THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


o  Y 

ARY  SCHOOL 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 

ENDO\XED   BY 

JOHN  SPRUNT  HILL 
CLASS  OF   1889 


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P363P 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00032690669 

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THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


THIS  TITLE  HAS  BEEN  MICROFILMED 


Form  No.  A'368 


Evangelistic  Sermons 
and  Life  Sketch 


RICHMOND  PBE3S,    IXC,  PRINTEH3 


REV.  R.  G.  PEARSON,  D.  D. 


9^^^                                 a_H-^ 

^ 

EVANGELISTIC 

SERMONS 

BY  THE 

Rev.  R.  G.  PEARSON,  D.  D. 

WITH 

LIFE  SKETCH   BY  HIS  WIFE 

MARY  BOWEN  PEARSON 

CONTENTS. 


Life  Sketch  of  R.  G.  Pearson 9 

Sowing  and  Reaping 73 

Preparation  to  Meet  God 91 

Excuses 117 

Receiving  Sinners 151 

The  Paschal  Lamb 182 

The  Brazen  Serpent 213 


mt  Bk$U\i  nf  a.  ($.  Pf  arBon 

To  trace  to  its  source  a  river  that  has  gladdened  introduction. 
some  land  by  bearing  in  its  waters  fertility  to  soil  and 
refreshment  to  man  is  a  task  that  has  attracted  many 
a  traveler  and  richly  rewarded  many  an  explorer.  To 
follow  to  its  beginning  a  life  that  has  borne  comfort 
to  sad  hearts,  hope  to  discouraged  ones,  and  messages 
of  salvation  to  lost  men,  is  a  work  as  far  surpassing 
this  as  spiritual  is  superior  to  material  truth,  and  help 
for  human  hearts  is  above  all  physical  benefits. 

The  life  of  R.  G.  Pearson,  as  lived  out  before  his 
fellow  men,  was  such  an  one,  and  traced  to  its  source 
to  find  the  springs  from  which  it  flowed  is  to  discover 
at  its  headwaters  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ : 
"He  that  believe th  on  me  from  him  shall  flow  rivers 
of  living  water.  This  spake  he  of  the  Spirit  that  they 
which  believe  on  him  should  receive."  Outside  the 
Bible,  as  well  as  within  its  sacred  folds,  God  uses  hu- 
man lives  as  object  lessons  of  His  saving  grace,  pa- 
tient love,  guiding  hand  and  overruling  providence. 

The  Pearson  family  were  originally  Quakers,  and  ^^®  Family, 
emigrated  from  North  Carolina  in  the  early  part  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  An  interesting  incident  of 
their  journey  from  North  Carolina  to  Mississippi  re- 
veals what  type  of  people  they  were.  Two  families, 
the  Pearson  and  one  whose  name  is  not  known  to  us, 
left  the  Old  North  State  together,  moving  in  wagons, 
as  was  the  custom  of  those  early  days.  They  jour- 
neyed on  together  until  Saturday  afternoon,  when  the 


ChUdhood. 


10  LIFE  SKETCH 

Pearsons  halted,  struck  camp,  and  prepared  to  spend 
the  Sabbath  in  rest  and  worship.  The  other  family 
drove  on.  On  Monday  morning,  with  teams  rested 
and  themselves  refreshed,  our  people  resumed  their 
journey,  and  on  Friday  overtook  and  passed  their  fel- 
low travelers.  Stopping  again  the  second  Saturday, 
they  were  repassed  by  their  companions  in  travel,  but 
before  reaching  their  destination,  the  Sabbath-keep- 
ing family  again  overtook  the  first,  and  finally  both 
families  reached  Mississippi  about  the  same  time — 
the  one  with  teams  jaded,  themselves  worn  and  weary; 
the  other  fresh  and  strong  for  the  work  of  unpacking 
and  getting  settled  in  their  new  home. 

Hilary  Pearson  and  his  wife.  Temperance  Walker, 
both  came  at  different  periods  from  North  Carolina, 
and  first  met  and  were  married  in  Mississippi.  To 
them  were  born  two  daughters  and  three  sons,  one 
son  dying  in  infancy.  Robert  Gamaliel,  the  third 
child  and  eldest  son,  was  born  June  9,  1847. 

His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  Robert  spent  all  the 
early  years  of  his  life  in  the  country — the  cool,  green, 
beautiful  country — living  a  free,  simple,  joyous  life. 
With  strong  local  attachments,  he  cherished  the  mem- 
ory of  his  childhood's  home  with  deep  tenderness,  re- 
turning there  again  and  again  for  periods  of  rest.  The 
field  and  woods  never  lost  their  charm  for  him.  The 
trees  seemed  rooted  in  his  richest  feelings,  and  his 
sweetest  memories  clustered  in  their  branches.  The 
mulberry  tree  that  he  planted  near  the  door,  the  splen- 
did oaks  on  the  lawn,  were  as  old  friends  to  him,  and, 
as  many  another  country  lad,  he  knew  every  tree  of 
the  woods  by  name.     The  birds  also  were  his  friendly 


LIFE  SKETCH  11 

neighbors,  and  in  manhood  he  detected  the  first  note 
of  the  bluebird  in  the  spring,  always  welcomed  the 
robins  on  their  return,  and  in  walks  along  hidden 
paths  through  the  woods  he  would  invariably  pause 
with  a  smile  and  a  look  of  earnest  attention  as  he 
caught  the  rich,  liquid  song  of  the  hermit  thrush. 
Through  the  years  of  his  young  life  he  had  watched 
their  habits,  observed  their  nesting  places  and  grown 
familiar  with  their  songs,  until  they  had  become  a 
part  of  his  life.  To  the  child  who  has  eyes  to  see, 
Mother  Nature  is  a  most  efficient  teacher,  and  espe- 
cially is  she  successful  in  instilling  a  strong  affection 
for  the  lessons  which  she  imparts,  not  only  winning 
and  charming  her  pupils,  but  making  her  teachings 
molding  influences  upon  their  characters.  Even  a  lit- 
tle child  seems  to  understand  that  no  "dead  mechan- 
ism guides  the  stars  or  wakes  the  flowers  from  their 
sleep."  Naturally  they  see  God  in  His  own  world 
and  look  "through  nature  up  to  nature's  God." 

Few  books  were  in  the  Pearson  family.  "Line  '^^^  ^°™®* 
Upon  Line,  Precept  Upon  Precept,"  was  one  to  which 
this  son  often  referred  as  of  special  interest  and  value 
to  him.  "Pilgrim's  Progress"  and  "Abbott's  Histo- 
ries" were  others  that  he  enjoyed.  Educators  are 
now  saying  that  the  mind  of  a  child  is  perplexed  by 
many  books,  while  it  holds  with  wonderful  tenacity 
the  knowledge  gained  from  a  few. 

When  only  six  years  old  Robert  Pearson  made 
public  confession  of  his  faith  in  Christ.  This  was  at 
the  old  "Gin  House"  meeting,  beneath  the  spacious 
roof  of  which  multitudes  could  be  gathered.  As  pen- 
itents were  crowding  to  the  altar,  Robert  went  along 


Conversion. 


12  LIFE  SKETCH 

with  them,  in  response  to  the  invitation  to  confess 
Christ,  and  he  overheard  one  man  say  to  another: 
"That  child  doesn't  know  what  he  is  doing." 

The  remark  troubled  the  little  fellow,  but  did  not 
deter  him  from  pressing  on.  The  circumstance  gave 
him  in  after  life  a  peculiar  sympathy  for  little  children 
in  taking  their  first  step  toward  God,  and  convinced 
him  that  children  comprehend  far  more  of  spiritual 
truth  than  many  older  people  give  them  credit  for. 
Even  in  his  early  years  he  had  his  place  of  secret 
prayer,  under  the  old  hop  vine  that  grew  at  the  back 
of  the  garden  fence.  His  eldest  sister,  observing  the 
regularity  with  which  he  went  to  the  same  place  at 
the  same  time  (twilight)  every  day,  and  curious  as  to 
the  reason,  followed  him  one  evening,  and  seeing  him 
kneeling,  she  paused  at  a  little  distance,  and  in  child- 
ish mischief  said,  loud  enough  for  him  to  hear,  ''Amen, 
Amen."  He  paid  no  attention,  and  she,  finding  that 
he  ignored  the  interruption,  left  him  after  thisundis- 
Preac^er.  turbcd.  In  referring  to  the  incident  he  used  laugh- 
ingly to  say  that  his  persecutions  began  early.  One 
of  his  favorite  pastimes  was  gathering  the  children, 
both  white  and  colored,  out  in  the  grove  and  preach- 
ing to  them.  That  he  should  preach  was  a  convic- 
tion reaching  back  to  his  earliest  recollection. 

Both  father  and  mother  were  sincerely,  simply 
Christians.  The  home  presented  a  good  example  of 
domestic  virtues — ruled  by  industry  the  six  days,  as 
God  commanded,  and  the  seventh,  in  equal  obedience, 
was  set  apart  as  a  day  of  rest  and  worship. 
Sunday  School  Robert's  first  Sunday  school  teacher  was  his  own 
Teacher.         father,  who  laid  the  foundation  of  the  knowledge  of 


LIFE  SKETCH  13 

the  Bible  which  characterized  his  son  in  later  years. 
The  books  used  in  Sunday  schools  then  were  those 
containing  questions  and  answers  from  the  Bible,  be- 
ginning at  Genesis  and  covering  all  the  books,  thus 
giving  to  the  children  a  comprehensive  grasp  and  con- 
nected view  of  the  Scriptures,  both  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments. 

At  the  family  altar  also  he  was  early  led  into  a 
knowledge  of  and  consequent  love  for  the  word  of 
God,  and  had  impressed  upon  him  by  example  as  well 
as  precept  the  importance  of  obedience  to  its  teach- 
ings. 

Another  strong  influence  of  those  early  days  was 
the  preaching  of  Rev.  David  Pressley  (Associate  Re- 
formed Presbyterian),  who  for  forty  years  preached 
every  month  in  that  neighborhood,  and  during  that 
time  missed  only  two  appointments — once  when  his 
wife  died,  and  the  other  when  swollen  streams  pre- 
vented his  crossing.  In  after  years  the  grandchildren 
and  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Pressley  were  converted  under 
che  preaching  of  Evangelist  Pearson  during  the  camp 
meetings  which  were  held  in  his  neighborhood.  A 
precious  reaping  this  of  the  faithful  sowing  by  an  hon- 
ored and  beloved  pastor. 

Robert  Pearson  early  learned  that  God  cannot  be  ^tioLT^™^ 
deceived  and  that  sin  is  its  own  avenger — "that  what- 
soever a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap."  His 
father  sent  him  one  day  to  plant  peas.  A  negro 
plowing  open  the  furrows,  and  he  following,  dropped 
the  peas.  He  wanted  to  go  fishing  that  afternoon 
with  several  other  boys,  who,  according  to  previous 
engagement,  were  to  come  by  for  him.     But  when 


14  LIFE  SKETCH 

they  arrived  his  task  was  far  from  completion.  It 
was  a  very  real  trial  to  him  to  have  the  boys  go  on, 
leaving  him  at  a  task  that  became  increasingly  irk- 
some as  he  watched  them  vanishing  from  sight  and 
nearing  the  stream,  which  he  well  knew  abounded  in 
fish,  and  where  every  good  fishing  as  well  as  "swim- 
ming hole"  was  known  to  him.  Finally,  temptation 
got  the  better  of  him,  and,  throwing  the  last  basket 
of  peas  into  a  hollow  stump,  he  hastened  to  join  his 
companions.  That  night  a  good  rain  fell,  and  in  a 
few  days,  to  his  dismay,  a  luxuriant  crop  of  peas 
adorned  the  old  stump.  Later,  his  father,  coming 
into  the  orchard,  discovered  the  peas,  took  in  the  sit- 
uation, and,  calling  his  son  to  him,  questioned  him 
about  the  matter.  Deeply  humiliated,  the  child  made 
honest  confession,  and  that  wise  father  took  time  to 
make  him  see  his  sin  in  its  double  aspect  of  disobedi" 
ence  and  deception.  The  incident  made  a  lasting 
impression,  and  he  often  expressed  gratitude  for  the 
way  in  which  that  sin  was  detected  and  dealt  with. 
Those  who  knew  him  in  later  life  and  his  abhorrence 
of  all  deception,  saw  that  not  only  were  there  elements 
in  his  nature  of  independence  and  courage  and  a  faith 
which  would  have  delivered  him  from  the  weakness 
that  resorts  to  deception,  but  also  that  this  lesson  was 
so  burned  into  his  heart  as  to  awaken  a  peculiar  ab- 
horrence of  all  forms  of  deceit. 
hSio?*'  Wholesome  good  cheer  characterized  the  home  life, 

and  as  a  family  they  were  given  to  fun,  repartee  and 
joking,  and  were  fond  of  outdoor  sports  and  fireside 
games.  An  amusing  instance  of  Robert's  fondness  for 
practical  jokes  occurred  during  the  Civil  War.     While 


LIFE  SKETCH  15 

his  father  was  away  in  the  army,  Robert  was  sent  into 
Starkville  one  day  on  some  business,  and  meeting  an 
old  negro  man  coming  out  from  the  tow^n,  a  spirit  of 
mischief  seized  the  boy,  and  he  said  to  the  negro: 

"Uncle,  didn't  you  know  the  Yankees  were  com- 
ing?" 

*'Law,  no,  young  massa!  I'se  gwine  home  to  my 
folks  'fo'  dey  git  thar." 

And  then  he  whipped  up  his  horse  and  rushed  for 
his  home,  leaving  Robert  quite  amused.  He  went  on 
into  the  town,  forgetting  all  about  the  joke  he  had 
played,  and  spent  several  hours  attending  to  the  bus- 
iness in  hand.  As  he  was  preparing  to  leave  for  home 
he  observed  groups  of  men  gathering  on  the  streets 
and  talking  excitedly.  Joining  one  of  these  groups, 
he  inquired  into  the  trouble,  and  was  told  that  a  large 
force  of  Federal  soldiers  had  suddenly  appeared  in 
his  own  neighborhood;  that  they  were  marching  to- 
ward Starkville,  making  havoc  as  they  went.  Terri- 
fied by  the  thought  of  what  might  already  have  be- 
fallen his  unprotected  mother  and  sisters  at  home,  he 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  under  intense  excitement, 
galloping  the  whole  way,  only  to  find  upon  arrival 
that  the  interrogation  of  a  single  question  which  he 
had  propounded  to  the  old  negro  had  been  trans- 
formed into  multiplied  exclamations  at  the  end  of  a 
long  story,  filled  out  in  detail  by  vivid  imaginations, 
and  gaining  horror  with  each  repetition.  This  fun- 
loving  spirit  remained  with  him  through  life  and 
proved  a  saving  quality  in  the  midst  of  his  labors  in 
dealing  with  questions  of  solemn  and  eternal  impor- 
tance. 


16  LIFE  SKETCH 

A^Si^ters  "From  my  earliest  recollection  he  and  I  were  partners  in  all 

our  youthful  games  and  amusements;  both  being  fond  of  games, 
and  having  but  a  limited  variety,  we  often  played  marbles  in  the 
old-fashioned  way — 'Line  up  the  men,'  'Shoot  from  taw,'  and 
'Always  aim  at  the  middle  man.'  Another  recreation  was  fish- 
ing. Living  as  we  did  only  a  haK-mile  from  a  good-sized  creek, 
we  were  often  there,  and  with  great  dehght  landed  many  a  'silver 
perch.'  Influenced  by  his  enthusiasm,  we  both  fished  with  an 
earnestness  and  delight  that  characterized  his  devotion  to  duty 
in  manhood.  I  often  joined  him  in  long  tramps  of  squirrel  and 
rabbit  hunting.  Many  times  on  summer  evenings  we  went  to- 
gether to  the  peach  orchard,  and,  each  with  a  knife  in  hand  we 
would  climb  the  low-hmbed  trees  and  sit  there  eating  peaches 
through  many  a  pleasant  hour  of  the  summer  mornings  and  eve- 
nings. To  this  day  I  never  hear  July  fUes  or  katydids  but  I  think 
of  those  summer  days,  eating  peaches  in  the  orchard.  Like  a 
flash  the  happy  memories  come,  and  for  one  brief  moment  bring 
the  joy  that  comes  only  with  recollections  of  happy  days  of  child- 
hood. 

Characteristic  <<it  was  no  less  characteristic  of  him  in  boyhood  than  in  man- 
hood to  be  perfectly  trustworthy  and  to  carry  on  to  success  any 
work  or  duty  entrusted  to  him.  At  a  very  early  age  he  was,  hke 
Henry  Clay,  'mill  boy,'  and  when  the  two  or  three-bushel  sack 
of  corn  was  placed  on  the  gentle  horse,  and  himself  lifted  to  a 
position  thereon,  he  would  go  seven  miles  and  return,  bringing 
all  home  safe  and  as  well  done  as  if  by  a  man.  And  even  when 
younger  he  would  ride  and  lead  one  horse  to  take  his  sisters  home 
on  Friday  afternoons  from  boarding  school.  (I  began  boarding 
out  before  I  was  seven  years  old,  in  StarkviUe,  which  was  five 
miles  distant  from  our  home.)  When,  in  the  busy  season,  he  was 
called  on  to  assist  in  farm  work,  there,  as  elsewhere,  he  was  always 
dependable  and  did  his  task  well.  I  have  often  heard  our  father 
say:  'Bobby  can  do  the  best  hoeing  of  any  boy  of  his  age  I  ever 
saw.'  When  quite  a  small  boy,  even  among  casual  or  new  ac- 
quaintances, he  always  gained  attention  and  received  favorable 
comment.  A  married  lady  said  to  me  last  fall :  'I  remember  hear- 
ing my  grandfather  say  that  little  Robert  Pearson  would  make 
a  great  man  some  day.'     The  grandfather  had  been  a  Revolu- 


LIFE  SKETCH  17 

tionary  soldier  and  had  kept  his  army  cap  all  those  years,  until 
he  gave  it  to  my  dear  brother.  The  colors  were  navy  blue  and 
red,  and  well  do  I  remember  how  proudly  he  wore  it  in  mimic 
parades.  It  may  not  always  be  so,  but  it  was  certainly  true  fo 
him— the  child  foretold  the  man.  As  I  look  back  now  so  many 
instances  of  his  childhood  and  boyhood  emphasize  the  impression 
I  then  had  of  his  unvarying  perseverance  and  Christian  conduct 
in  resisting  many  forms  of  youthful  frivolities.  I  recall  an  inci- 
dent of  his  putting  aside  the  fascination  of  the  dance,  a  pleasure 
so  tempting  to  the  young,  and  this  for  conscience's  sake.  While 
the  rest  of  us  were  getting  ready  to  go  to  the  dance,  eager  in  antic- 
ipation of  its  pleasure,  I  noticed  him  walking  back  and  forth  in 
deep  thought .  I  knew  by  his  face  why  he  was  not  going.  I  knew 
he  was  making  a  decision  for  conscience,  though  not  a  word  was 
spoken  between  us.     Blessed  is  his  memory! 

"Our  parents  were  natives  of  North  Carolina.  Father  was  a  The  Father. 
man  of  faith  and  works,  of  fixed  purpose  and  deep  earnestness  in 
all  relations  of  life.  Not  having  had  educational  advantages 
himself,  he  made  every  effort  to  give  his  children  the  best  oppor- 
tunities obtainable,  and  counted  no  sacrifice  too  great  for  this 
end.  He  was  a  lover  of  mankind  and  generous  even  beyond  his 
abihty,  especially  to  the  ministers  of  the  gospel.  Brother  Rob- 
ert was  his  first-born  son,  and  in  the  first  hour  of  his  Ufe  my  father 
took  him  apart  into  an  adjoining  room  and  dedicated  him  to  God 
and  to  the  ministry.  Lest  it  might  influence  the  child,  he  never 
mentioned  this  fact  until  my  brother,  impressed  with  a  sense  of 
the  divine  call,  had  given  himself  to  the  gospel  ministry.  It  has 
always  been  a  source  of  great  sorrow  to  me  that  our  father  died 
without  having  heard  him  preach,  without  seeing  the  abundant 
fruit  of  his  earnest  prayers  and  reaUzing  his  fondest  hopes. 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  1861,  my  father  volun- 
teered for  service,  joined  the  first  cavalry  company  that  was  or- 
ganized in  his  home  county— Robert  Muldrow  captain,  Wert 
Adams  regimental  officer.  He  was  engaged  in  the  battles  of 
Shiloh  and  Vicksburg  and  numerous  skirmishes  in  this  vicinity. 
In  those  trying  days  Robert  was  of  so  much  assistance,  protec- 
tion and  comfort  to  his  mother  and  sisters,  though  only  fourteen 
years  of  age.     He  was  helpful  all  his  life. 


18 


LIFE  SKETCH 


The  Mother.  "Our  mother  was  a  true  mother,  'a  keeper  at  home.'  She  real- 
ized her  responsibihty  of  training  her  children  in  such  a  way  that 
there  might  not  be  one  missing  around  the  great  white  throne. 
In  my  earUest  recollections  she  had  a  place  for  prayer  in  an  in- 
conspicuous grove,  where  she  selected  a  special  shady  tree,  and 
there  had  seats  arranged,  where  she  would  gather  us  together  for 
evening  prayer.  It  was  evident  to  us  even  as  children  that  in  her 
daily  duties  of  the  home  she  walked  with  God. 

"When  the  time  of  separation  came,  and  she  was  left  to  jour- 
ney on  alone,  she  met  the  stern  reahties  of  life  bravely  and  faith- 
fully, and  in  this  sad  hour  again  she  more  than  ever  realized  the 
worth  and  comfort  and  assistance  of  her  eldest  son.  'A  mother's 
crown  of  rejoicing'  he  was  to  her,  and  a  blessing  to  us  all.  This 
is  the  tribute  of  a  devoted  sister.  Hattie." 

"O,  for  the  sight  of  a  vanished  face,  the  sound  of  his  familiar 


The  Youth 
at  School. 


voice. 


His  early  education  was  received  from  schools  in 
his  own  neighborhood.  The  school  building  was  as 
nearly  the  community  center  as  could  be  found  in  that 
individualistic  age.  There  were  no  public  school 
funds  in  Mississippi  before  the  War  Between  the 
States,  and  the  schools  were  sustained  entirely  by  pri- 
vate subscription,  generous  tuition  providing  first- 
class  salaries  for  first-class  teachers.  Not  until  after 
the  war  did  many  Southerners  adopt  teaching  as  a 
profession,  but  many  efficient  and  well-trained  teach- 
ers from  New  England  were  employed  in  the  South  as 
tutors  and  governesses  in  private  homes  and  as  teach- 
ers in  the  private  schools.  Some  of  these  taught  in 
and  near  Starkville,  and  the  Pearson  children  still  re- 
call with  appreciation  the  thorough  work  of  these  New 
England  teachers.  Groups  of  happy  children — bro- 
thers, sisters,  neighbors,  with  dinner  baskets  in  hand, 
laughing,  talking,  playing — wended  their  way  in  the 


LIFE  SKETCH  19 

early  morning,  along  winding  paths  through  shady 
woods,  to  the  school,  and  returned  about  sunset  to 
their  homes.  The  compensation  for  these  long  days 
at  school  was  easily  found  in  the  long  walks,  the  long 
recesses  and  noon  hour,  and  the  cool,  shady  woods  in 
which  they  played. 

Aberdeen,  Miss.,  afforded  a  more  advanced  course 
of  study,  and  after  a  few  years  Robert  was  sent  by  his 
father  to  Aberdeen.  There  he  boarded  in  the  pri- 
vate home  of  a  lovable,  motherly  woman,  whose 
Christian  character  left  an  indelible  impress  upon 
the  youth  who  in  the  providence  of  God  was  entrusted 
to  her  care  in  his  first  experience  away  from  his 
mother. 

Cooper  Institute,  near  Meridian,  Miss.,  afforded 
good  advantages  for  thorough  teaching  by  competent, 
conscientious  and  Christian  men.  The  co-operative 
boarding  plan  was  followed  in  this  school,  and  Rob- 
ert's father  sent  boxes  of  provisions  from  his  home  to 
the  school.  Before  the  time  for  that  loved  son's  home- 
coming on  his  first  vacation  his  father  died.  Octo- 
ber 18,  1868,  the  time  when  he  last  saw  his  father  in 
life,  was  recalled  by  the  son  with  every  succeeding 
October.  All  important  dates  in  his  whole  life  were 
fixed  in  his  memory  in  a  truly  remarkable  way,  and 
as  the  days  recurred  through  the  passing  years,  the 
events  connected  with  them  were  recalled  without  an 
effort.  Summoned  home  on  account  of  his  father's 
illness,  he  reached  there  the  day  after  his  death. 
After  the  burial  and  the  family  had  returned  home, 
as  the  hour  for  evening  worship  drew  on,  he  said: 
''Mother,  as  best  I  can  I  will  take  father's  place  to- 


In  College. 


20  LIFE  SKETCH 

night."  And  from  that  time  the  burdens  and  respon- 
sibilities of  the  father  rested  upon  his  eldest  son,  then 
just  twenty-one.  Finding  that  work  on  the  farm  re- 
quired his  assistance  and  supervision,  he  left  school 
for  the  time,  helped  that  year  to  make  the  crop,  and 
then,  getting  all  things  satisfactorily  adjusted,  he  re- 
turned to  school  the  following  fall.  Henceforth, 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  the  struggles  he 
bravely  met  and  the  difficulties  he  successfully  over- 
came, through  the  years  in  college,  form  one  of  the 
most  intensely  interesting  periods  of  his  history. 
L^rcSt.^"  When,  at  the  close  of  the  first  term,  he  started  out, 
in  response  to  invitations  from  pastors  to  aid  them  in 
special  meetings  in  their  country  churches,  it  was  nec- 
essary for  him  to  cross  a  river  on  a  ferryboat.  The 
charge  for  crossing  was  10  cents,  and  this  took  the 
last  dime  he  possessed.  Those  who  knew  him  in  later 
life  knew  how  he  was  always  looking  ahead  to  pro- 
vide for  emergencies — his  dread  of  a  small  bank  ac- 
count— can  understand  what  it  meant  to  him  to  pay 
out  his  last  cent.  There  was  one  compensation  which 
came  to  him  through  another  distinguishing  charac- 
teristic— his  great  satisfaction  in  paying  every  debt. 
Even  as  his  father,  who,  having  contracted  a  heavy 
debt  for  slaves  bought  just  before  the  war,  worked 
until  he  had  paid  it  all,  even  though  it  well-nigh  im- 
poverished his  family.  But  to  that  family  his  record 
of  an  honest  man  was  of  far  more  v^alue  than  would 
have  been  any  sum  of  money  saved  for  them  through 
failure  to  meet  his  obligations.  At  the  close  of  the 
summer  the  young  preacher  returned  to  college,  feel- 
ing quite  rich,  with  $50  in  money,  a  number  of  val- 


LIFE  SKETCH  21 

uable  books  which  had  been  given  him  from  private 
libraries,  and  a  good  supply  of  clothing  and  home- 
knit  socks,  provided  by  kind  women.  ''Whatever  be 
the  circumstances  of  the  passing  hours,  wealth  or  pov- 
erty, sunshine  or  shadow,  out  of  all  the  true  values  are 
obtained,  if  God  is  enthroned  in  the  heart.  If  not, 
whatever  path  be  chosen  or  course  pursued,  the  ulti- 
mate language  of  experience  will  be  Vanity  of  vani- 
ties.' " 

Cooper  Institute  was  located  in  the  country,  nine   I'ffJ^f  ^^ 
miles  from  the  railroad.     During  his  last  year  in  col- 
lege he  had  a  regular  appointment  to  preach  in  a 
church  a  little  way  up  the  railroad.     Leaving  school 
on  Saturday,  it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  meet  his 
classes  Monday  morning,  to  return  on  Sunday  night, 
and  this  put  him  at  the  station  between  midnight  and 
day.     He  engaged  an  old  negro  man  who  owned  a 
horse  to  meet  him  regularly  at  the  train,  and  together 
they  journeyed  the  long  nine  miles.     Sometimes,  from 
sickness  or  other  causes,  the  old  negro  failed  to  meet 
him,  and  then,  through  the  pine  groves  of  that  sparsely 
settled  country,  in  the  still  hours  of  the  night,  he 
walked  that  distance  all  alone,  arriving  ''on  time" 
and  with  lessons  prepared  for  the  morning  classes. 
"Be  strong — and  work.     If  we  do  that  we  may  leave 
the  issues  with  God,  but  we  have  no  right  to  leave 
issues  with  God  unless  we  work."     How  character 
crystallizes  around  persistent  effort,  gaining  courage 
to  brave  difficulties  and  strength  to  endure  hardships! 
With  eager  desire  for  an  education,  he  gave  himself 
to  study,  foregoing  all  social  distractions  that  would 
hinder  him  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  purpose, 


22  LIFE  SKETCH 

so  bent  was  he  on  getting  himself  prepared  for  the 
greatest  efficiency  in  the  work  to  which  he  felt  God 
had  called  him.  John  the  Baptist  found  desert  life 
an  excellent  school  of  preparation  for  him  as  a  mes- 
senger to  Israel,  and  many  men  since  then  have  found 
that  the  separated  walk  best  fits  them  for  efficient 
service. 

History  and  astronomy  were  two  specially  favorite 
studies  with  him.  Even  with  the  limited  equipment 
for  pursuing  the  study  of  astronomy,  it  was  yet  so 
fascinating  to  him  that  he  made  unusual  progress, 
both  in  the  knowledge  gained  and  in  observations 
taken. 

We  are  fortunate  in  securing  the  testimony  of  a 
classmate  in  Cooper  Institute,  Rev.  I.  D.  Steele: 
A  Claaamate'a       "The  first  time  I  ever  saw  Dr.  R.  G.  Pearson  was  when  I  waa 

ii*GO  0 1  iGP  1 1 0  IIS 

in  my  teens  and  he  a  young  man  in  Cooper  College,  in  Southern 
Mississippi.  I  heard  there  was  to  be  preaching  in  the  chapel  by 
a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Pearson.  I  went  to  hear  him.  He 
was  youthful  in  looks,  but  opened  the  service  well  and  preached 
far  beyond  my  expectations.  Really,  the  sermon  greatly  im- 
pressed me.  I  was  a  Christian,  but  had  not  thought  of  entering 
the  ministry.  Before  he  had  finished  that  sermon  I  had  decided 
to  meet  him  and  to  associate  with  him  all  I  could,  for  I  felt  sure 
he  would  be  a  great  help  to  me  in  every  way.  He  responded  most 
pleasantly  to  my  greeting,  and  most  cordially  invited  me  to  call 
and  see  him.  We  became  fast  friends  from  that  year  on  through 
all  his  life.  He  was  a  hard  student,  a  success  in  his  classes,  a 
brilUant  and  logical  debater. 
Evangelistic  "He  was  a  member  of  a  club  called  the  Ciceronian  Club,  formed 

for  the  purpose  of  improvement  in  impromptu  speaking,  and 
composed  of  five  members.  It  met  each  week.  The  chair  was 
occupied  in  alphabetical  order  by  the  members,  and  each  chair- 
man announced  the  subject  he  wished  debated  and  appointed 
two  speakers  to  the  side,  who  were  given  five  minutes  in  which 


Beginnings. 


LIFE  SKETCH  23 

to  speak.  Five  questions  were  debated  at  each  meeting.  Dr. 
Pearson  was  one  of  the  originators  of  this  club.  Four  years' 
practice  in  the  club  helped  to  make  him  a  ready  thinker  on  the 
floor  and  gave  him  an  easy  and  charming  deUvery. 

''He  was  full  of  Christian  zeal.  He  preached  somewhere  al- 
most every  Sabbath,  and  the  people  heard  him  gladly.  Special 
meetings  in  the  school  among  the  students  were  held  each  year, 
and  he  was  a  power  in  leading  scores  of  them  to  Christ.  Some 
of  the  best  reUgious  work  of  his  Ufe  was  done  before  he  was  or- 
dained to  the  ministry,  for  he  preached  from  the  time  he  joined 
the  presbytery.  He  spent  his  summer  vacations  assisting  in  re- 
vivals in  the  presbytery,  and  the  Lord  gave  him  great  success. 
He  was  a  member  of  and  took  a  most  active  part  in  the  Uterary 
society,  and  filled  all  of  the  places  with  honor.  In  connection 
with  his  studies  he  took  a  wide  course  of  reading,  which  gave  him 
a  fund  of  information  for  after  years.  He  always  read  the  New 
Testament  faithfully — read  it  through  a  number  of  times  on  his 
knees  in  secret,  an  attitude  of  humihty  and  dependence  in  seek- 
ing light  as  he  read  God's  word.  Had  he  done  nothing  except 
what  he  did  while  a  student,  in  leading  young  men  to  Christ,  in 
inspiring  and  helping  those  who  were  Christians  to  hve  devotedly, 
his  life  would  have  been  well  worth  while.  He  was  very  chunmiy 
with  the  boys,  and  by  his  gifts  and  powers  he  served  as  a  mighty 
inspiration  to  many  of  them  to  be  something  and  to  do  something. 
********* 

"While  Dr.  Pearson  was  in  college  in  Mississippi,  late  one  after-  f  Jfe^^lnto 
noon  a  young  friend  of  his  went  to  his  room  to  talk  confidentially  the  Ministry, 
with  him  over  what  he  called  'his  terrible  state  of  mind.'  He  told 
Mr.  Pearson  he  had  for  a  year  fought  convictions  to  enter  the  minis- 
try; that  he  did  not  want  to  preach,  but  that  he  seemed  unable 
to  make  headway  against  his  impression  that  he  should  do  so, 
and  that  he  was  greatly  troubled  and  wanted  the  matter  settled. 
Mr.  Pearson  told  the  young  man  that  he  was  glad  to  hear  that 
he  was  in  that  condition,  for  he  had  been  praying  for  that  very 
thing  to  happen,  and  suggested  that  they  walk  into  the  grove  and 
talk  and  pray  over  the  matter.  This  they  did,  and  while  Mr. 
Pearson  was  praying  the  young  man  was  able  fully  and  completely 


24 


LIFE  SKETCH 


First 
Pastorate. 


His  Elder's 
Recollections. 


to  surrender  his  will  to  God,  and  shortly  after  entered  the  min- 
istry, never  again  having  any  doubt  or  trouble  over  the  matter, 
and  has  now  been  a  preacher  for  thirty  years." 

Completing  the  course  at  Cooper  Institute,  he  went 
to  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Lebanon,  Tenn.,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1876.  His  first  pastorate  was 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Tupelo, 
Miss.  A  friend  in  whose  home  he  boarded  there  tells 
of  his  life  and  work  as  pastor  in  Tupelo : 

"Brother  Pearson  took  charge  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian Church  here  in  November,  1873.  The  church  was  organ- 
ized the  third  Sabbath  in  October,  1873,  and  Brother  Pearson 
preached  for  us  the  next  Sunday,  and  was  then  called  to  supply 
the  church  one  Sabbath  in  the  month,  though  at  that  time  he 
was  only  a  licentiate.  My  brother.  Rev.  B.  L.  Clayton,  who  was 
very  much  in  favor  of  getting  Brother  Pearson  to  preach  for  us, 
agreed  to  moderate  the  session,  baptize,  receive  members  and 
to  administer  the  sacrament.  He  was  then  in  school  at  Cooper 
Institute.  After  he  graduated  from  that  school  he  came  to  Tu- 
pelo and  Lived  in  my  home  from  that  time  until  his  marriage  in 
the  fall  of  1878,  except  during  the  time  that  he  attended  the  The- 
ological Seminary  in  Lebanon,  Tenn.  The  pulpit  here  was  filled 
by  a  substitute,  Rev.  C.  N.  Wood,  during  his  absence.  Gradu- 
ating from  the  seminary,  he  returned  to  my  home  as  pastor  of 
our  church.  My  father  and  mother  lived  in  my  home  at  the 
time,  and  my  mother  loved  Brother  Pearson  as  if  he  had  been  her 
own  son. 

"His  stay  with  us  was  both  pleasant  and  profitable;  his  pas- 
torate was  helpful  to  his  charge;  he  loved  to  visit  the  people  in 
their  homes,  to  pray  with  and  for  them,  and  they  greatly  enjoyed 
his  pastoral  visits.  Those  who  remain  here  still  look  back  upon 
his  pastorate  as  an  oasis  in  the  desert  of  life  and  as  'the  shadow 
of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land.'  They  loved  him  with  an  ever- 
increasing  love — a  love  that  never  waned.  In  the  preparation 
of  his  sermons  he  wrote  them  out  in  full,  but  never  carried  a  note 
into  the  pulpit.     Though  never  using  manuscript,  he  preached 


LIFE  SKETCH  25 

substantially  the  sermon  as  written,  and  was  never  at  a  loss  for 

a  word. 

"As  an  illustration  of  his  power  to  hold  people,  I  give  you  two  Eariy^.^ 
examples.  The  first  sermon  he  preached  for  us  was  in  a  Meth-  ^^^"^  '°^- 
odist  church,  and  Colonel  Blair,  a  prominent  lawyer  here,  was 
sitting  where  I  could  see  him.  When  Brother  Pearson  arose  to 
begin  the  service,  his  boyish  appearance  and  somewhat  pecuhar 
voice  depressed  Colonel  Blair,  and  he  hung  his  head  and  showed 
by  his  manner  that  he  did  not  expect  to  hear  much;  but  as  the 
preacher  advanced  with  his  subject  and  laid  down  his  proposi- 
tions as  none  but  he  could  do,  Colonel  Blair  began  to  raise  his 
head,  opened  his  eyes,  and  every  expression  of  his  face  showed 
pleasure  and  deUght.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  service  he  rushed 
up  to  me  and  said,  'Who  is  he?  I  have  heard  many  eloquent 
divines  and  our  bishops,  but  never  anything  Uke  this.' 

Another  instance:  My  brother,  B.  L.  Clayton,  was  pastor  in 
charge  at  Old  Bethlehem,  five  miles  east  of  Tupelo,  and  he  asked 
Brother  Pearson  to  hold  a  meeting  for  him.  This  meeting  was 
held  out  in  a  grove  near  the  church,  and  on  the  first  Sunday  every 
seat  was  taken  and  many  standing  in  the  July  sun.  Two  young 
men  were  standing  together;  one  said  to  the  other:  'Suppose  we 
go  over  to  the  house  and  get  some  water.  I  do  not  care  to  hear 
that  boy.  I  don't  know  why  Clayton  brought  him  here,  any- 
way.' The  other  repUed:  'Let's  wait  and  see  how  he  starts  off, 
and  then  we  will  go.'  But  they  both  stood  there  in  that  hot  sun- 
shine until  the  sermon  was  over.  He  was  a  benediction  to  my 
home,  and  the  memory  of  his  stay  with  us  is  like  a  halo  of  glory 
even  now." 

It  was  while  he  was  pastor  in  Tupelo  that  he  was 
invited  to  Oxford,  Miss.,  to  preach  a  commencement 
sermon  in  a  college  for  young  women.  It  was  there 
that  he  met  Miss  Mary  Bowen,  a  teacher  in  the  col- 
lege, whom  he  afterwards  married. 

The  young  men  of  Oxford  who  heard  the  commence- 
ment sermon  sent  a  special  request  that  he  would 
preach  that  night  for  them.     "Believe  on  the  Lord 


26  LIFE  SKETCH 

Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,"  was  the  mes- 
sage he  brought  to  them — a  message  never  forgotten 
by  many  who  listened  with  deepest  interest  as  he  un- 
folded God's  plain  and  simple  plan  of  faith  as  the  way 
of  salvation  for  a  lost  world.  The  last  point  in  the 
sermon  was  the  adaptation  of  faith  to  all  men  every- 
where and  under  all  circumstances.  This  was  illus- 
trated by  the  wounded  soldier  on  the  field  of  battle, 
who  could  believe  and  be  saved;  the  sailor  on  the 
wrecked  vessel,  the  little,  homeless  shoeblack,  sleep- 
ing in  an  old  goods  box,  with  only  the  blue  sky  for  his 
covering.  Picture  after  picture  of  the  lost  and  help- 
less, who,  by  God's  simple  yet  glorious  plan  of  salva- 
tion, are  saved,  was  held  up  before  them,  until  the 
hearts  of  the  whole  congregation  seemed  melted  in 
contemplation  of  the  grace,  wisdom  and  power  of  God, 
as  revealed  in  His  Son  and  in  the  Gospel  of  His  salva- 
tion. During  the  Tupelo  pastorate  he  did  a  great 
deal  of  general  reading,  especially  history  and  the 
finest  essays,  as  Macauley,  Hume,  Gibbon  and  Addi- 
son. He  was  a  very  rapid  reader;  his  mind  laid  hold 
upon  the  things  that  specially  interested  him,  and 
they  seemed  never  to  elude  his  memory,  but  by  the 
law  of  association  stood  related  to  things  that  brought 
them  up  as  required. 
Convf^tions!  Shortly  after  his  marriage  he  told  his  wife  of  an 
abiding  conviction  that  he  had  had  for  years,  which 
was  that  he  was  to  travel  from  place  to  place  and 
preach.  He  also  told  her  that  while  in  college  he  had 
proposed  to  one  of  his  classmates  that  they  never 
marry,  but  give  themselves  wholly  to  traveling  and 
preaching.     This  was  before  any  such  thing  as  dis- 


LIFE  SKETCH  27 

tinctive  evangelistic  work  was  known  in  that  section. 
His  friend  declined  the  proposition,  and  now  he  asked 
his  wife  if  she  would  be  willing  to  accompany  him  in 
such  work.  Her  reply  was  that  if  it  were  the  will  of 
God  for  them,  she  would  gladly  go,  but  frankly  said 
that  a  regular  pastorate  was  far  more  to  her  tastes  and 
desires.  Unfortunate  indeed  would  it  be  for  us  if  our 
lives  were  always  controlled  simply  by  our  tastes  and 
desires.  The  subject  was  not  mentioned  again  for 
two  years,  he  doubtless  feelmg  himself  that  the  way 
to  take  up  this  work  was  not  made  plain,  while  he 
was  being  so  blessed  in  his  pastoral  service  and  no 
other  door  seemed  open  at  the  time.  He  had  frequent 
calls  to  aid  brother  pastors  in  special  meetings,  and 
as  far  as  it  was  possible,  he  gladly  responded  to  every 
such  call.  He  also  had  charge  of  several  other 
churches,  in  which  he  conducted  special  meetings. 
The  methods  he  adopted  in  those  early  days  were 
practically  the  same  that  he  followed  in  all  the  evan- 
gelistic work  of  after  years,  feeling  clearly  guided  of 
God  as  to  the  method  as  well  as  to  the  work  itself. 

Tracing  the  analogies  which  he  found  in  Scripture 
was  a  very  favorite  way  of  sermonizing — a  way  pecu- 
liarly helpful  and  suggestive:  "The  Water  of  Life," 
"The  Bread  of  Life,"  "Christ  the  Shepherd,"  "The 
True  Vine,"  "The  Lamb  of  God"  and  "The  Sun  of 
Righteousness."  In  illustration  of  this  method,  in 
the  sermon  on  the  "Sun  of  Righteousness, ' '  he  showed 
the  analogy  In  their  unity,  position,  power,  influence, 
light,  heat,  rising,  setting  and  meridian  splendor. 

In  1879  he  received  a  call  to  Columbia,  Tenn.,  which    lastorlte. 
he  accepted,  and  went  to  them  early  in  January  of 


28  LIFE  SKETCH 

the  following  year.  It  was  while  in  Columbia  that 
he  set  for  himself  the  plan  of  reading  the  Bible  through 
once  a  month  by  reading  each  morning  a  definite 
number  of  pages.  This  he  did  with  ease  through  the 
year,  thus  go'ng  through  it  twelve  times  in  the  first 
year  of  his  pastorate  there,  while  at  the  same  time  with 
ease  preparing  two  sermons  a  week  and  keeping  up 
his  pastoral  visiting  and  all  the  duties  pertaining  to 
his  office.  His  recreation  was  gardening,  in  which  he 
excelled. 
i^Ef.  -^ri  amusing  incident  connected  with  his  first  visit 

to  the  presbytery  after  reaching  Columbia  occurred 
at  the  first  meeting  of  the  presbytery,  when  the  breth- 
ren, who  were  a  little  curious  to  meet  the  new  pastor 
from  Columbia,  saw  him  in  their  church  court.  A 
number  of  reports  had  been  presented  to  the  presby- 
tery, and  a  motion  was  made  that  Mr.  Pearson  be  the 
man  appointed  to  make  a  speech  in  review  of  these 
reports.  The  moderator,  from  the  chair,  in  seeming 
forgetfulness  of  the  dignity  of  his  position,  said:  **It 
is  moved  that  Mr.  Pearson  be  the  man  to  make  a 
speech  in  review  of  these  reports.  He  may  be  a  man, 
but  he  looks  more  like  a  hoy.''  At  this  the  audience 
laughed  heartily,  for  evidently  it  was  just  what  they 
had  been  thinking.  Mr.  Pearson  quietly  arose,  and, 
pausing  just  a  moment,  until  a  hush  fell  upon  the 
audience,  then,  pointing  to  the  moderator,  who  was 
a  large,  fleshy  man,  he  said:  "Yes,  Mr.  Moderator, 
I  will  make  that  speech,  and  when  I  have  finished  I 
hope  to  show  this  audience  that  it  takes  more  than 
beef  and  bones  to  make  a  man."     The  men  roared. 


LIFE  SKETCH  29 

and  from  that  time  he  seemed  to  be  perfectly  at  home 

with  his  brethren.  ^  t.   .    • 

_,  ,  •       /-^    1         u  •  Co-Pastor  m 

As  was  the  case  in  Tupelo,  so  m  Columbia;  many   NashviUe. 
calls  came  from  brother  pastors  to  aid  in  meetings, 
and,  as  before,  he  still  was  always  inclined  to  go.     In 
a  remarkable  way  he  was  led  in  those  years  to  fields 
that  were  "white  unto  the  harvest,"  for  almost  with- 
out exception  in  every  meeting  the  Spirit  moved  with 
mighty  power,  many  souls  were  saved,  and  believers 
in  large  numbers  were  added  to  the  churches.     Among 
the  calls  that  came  to  him  while  in  this  pastorate  was 
one  from  the  First  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church, 
in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  of  which  Dr.  A.  J.  Baird  was  pas- 
tor.    As  Dr.  Baird  observed  him  during  that  meet- 
ing and  remembered  the  great  blessings  upon  his  work 
in  other  places,  he  was  impressed  with  his  marked 
evangelistic  gifts.     At  the  conclusion  of  the  meeting. 
Dr.  Baird  came,  with  the  approval  of  his  session,  to 
Mr.  Pearson  with  a  proposition  to  become  co-pastor 
with  himself,  proposing  the  very  unique  plan  that  the 
two  alternate  in  pastoral  and  evangelistic  work.     One 
pastor  was  to  remain  with  the  church  in  Nashville 
three  months,  while  the  other  went  out  into  the  field; 
then  the  field  worker  return,  bringing  to  the  home 
church  a  report  of  what  the  Lord  had  done  through 
him,  and  carry  on  the  pastoral  work,  while  the  other 
went  forth  in  the  same  way.     The  arrangement  con- 
tinued through  the  year,  to  the  joy  of  the  pastors, 
the  church  at  home  and  the  fields  visited.     At  the 
end  of  the  year  Dr.  Baird  met  with  a  serious  accident, 
from  which  he  died,  to  the  great  loss  of  the  church 
and  grief  of  the  people. 


30  LIFE  SKETCH 

UiT^oxk!^  Mr.  Peafson  had  now  come  to  the  parting  of  the 
ways.  Step  by  step  he  had  been  led,  until  at  last  the 
way  to  enter  wholly  upon  evangelistic  work  was  made 
so  plain  that  he  no  longer  hesitated.  Engagements 
for  three  months  ahead  were  already  made ;  the  whole 
denomination  had  become  acquainted  with  him 
through  the  work  of  the  preceding  year.  The  ses- 
sion chose  another  pastor.  Now,  casting  himself 
upon  God  with  joy,  to  see  that  the  convictions  and 
longings  of  other  years  were  to  be  realized  through 
the  providential  ordering  of  God,  and  in  perfect  con- 
fidence that  this  was  the  will  of  God  for  him,  he  en- 
tered upon  what  was  at  that  time  an  untried  field. 
He  obtained  discretionary  leave  of  absence  from  his 
(Nashville)  presbytery.  With  no  board,  assembly  or 
church  behind  him,  engagements  for  only  three 
months  of  work  ahead,  he  started  forth,  relying  im- 
plicitly upon  the  promise,  "Til  be  with  thee,"  while 
obeying  the  command,  "Go,  preach  the  gospel." 
Soon  there  were  more  calls  than  he  could  meet.  En- 
gagements, not  for  three  months  only,  but  for  six, 
twelve  and  eighteen  months,  were  constantly  ahead 
of  him.  The  first  several  years  were  spent  chiefly  in 
the  Western  States.  Beginning  in  Evansville,  Ind., 
then  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  on  to  Texas,  where  more 
than  a  year's  work  of  consecutive  engagements  was 
soon  found  after  entering  that  Empire  State.  From 
the  day  that  he  entered  the  evangelistic  service  he 
kept  a  diary — a  thing  he  had  never  done  before — as 
though  he  had  the  feeling  that  he  had  now  truly  en- 
tered upon  that  which  was  to  constitute  in  fullest 
measure  his  life  work.     When  Israel  set  forth  as  a 


LIFE  SKETCH  31 

nation  from  Egypt,  to  be  wholly  separated  unto  God, 
they  were  told  that  that  was  to  be  the  beginning  of 
months  to  them.  Do  any  of  us  truly  begin  to  live 
until  in  full  surrender  and  unquestioning  faith  we 
launch  out  into  the  service  for  which  in  our  creation 
God  designed  us?  A  record  of  every  single  meeting 
held  from  that  time  was  kept — a  record,  though  very 
brief,  dealing  with  essentials — the  time  of  arrival  and 
departure,  the  name  of  the  family  who  entertained 
us,  sermons  preached,  confessions  made.  No  public 
announcement  was  made  of  the  confessions  by  him, 
for  he  often  said  that  there  was  a  snare  in  the  count- 
ing business,  remembering,  as  he  did,  David's  temp- 
tation and  sin  in  that  matter.  A  brief  summary  of 
each  year's  work  was  given  at  the  close  of  every 
twelve  months'  campaign  in  short  sentences,  as,  ''This 
has  been  by  far  the  best  year  of  my  life ;  I  thank  God 
and  take  courage."  Or,  "I  can  say  with  Joshua,  not  oprnS^*'" 
one  good  thing  hath  failed  of  all  that  the  Lord  hath 
promised."  During  the  years  there  were  many  hard 
places  and  trying  experiences,  which  made  it  neces- 
sary to  remember  the  injunction,  "Endure  hardness 
as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ." 

In  the  beginning  of  his  evangelistic  work  the  meet- 
ings were  held  in  connection  with  the  C.  P.  Church, 
but  as  the  revival  spirit  increased  and  interest  in  the 
meetings  grew,  other  and  larger  churches  were  vol- 
untarily tendered,  and  soon  all  denominational  lines 
were  forgotten  in  the  common  joy  of  the  blessing  of 
God  upon  the  various  cities.  After  a  time  these  va- 
rious denominations — Methodist,  Baptist,  Congrega- 
tional, Lutheran,  Presbyterian — all  joined  in  invita- 


32  LIFE  SKETCH 

tions,  which  were  sent  to  him,  pledging  their  co-oper- 
ation in  a  work  which  they  asked  that  he  would  lead. 
Thus  God  Himself  opened  wide  the  door,  that  the 
gospel  might  be  given  to  every  church  and  every  class 
in  cities  to  w^hich  His  servant  was  sent.  Occasionally 
efforts  were  made  to  circumscribe  the  work  by 
churches  that  failed  to  realize  that  they  were  in  com- 
munities to  serve  the  community,  and  not  that  the 
community  was  to  serve  them.  His  reply  to  all  such 
was  that  he  had  not  been  sent  forth  as  a  denomina- 
tional recruiting  officer,  but  as  a  worker  for  the  king- 
dom of  God. 
M^fings.  Returning  from  one  of  the  early  campaigns  for  a 

Neighborhood,  ^^^st  during  the  summer  in  his  old  home,  which  he 
had  not  visited  for  some  years,  and  perceiving  the 
spiritual  dearth  in  his  old  neighborhood,  he  called  the 
neighbors  together  and  offered  to  help  them  erect  a 
temporary  building,  in  which  to  hold  a  series  of  meet- 
ings. They  gladly  accepted  the  proffered  aid.  His 
brother  giving  also  most  valuable  assistance,  they 
soon  erected  what  they  called  a  tabernacle,  being  sim- 
ply a  large,  rectangular  structure,  open  all  around, 
made  of  unhewn  posts  brought  from  the  surrounding 
forests,  and  covered  with  leafy  limbs  from  the  trees, 
much  as  the  booths  of  Israel  at  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles, save  that  this  was  one  large,  central  place  for 
worship,  instead  of  many  small  places  for  habitation. 
The  tabernacle  was  situated  in  a  beautiful  grove  of 
splendid  oaks,  making  a  shade  so  dense  that  not  only 
those  who  found  seats  under  the  spacious  building, 
but  as  many  more  under  the  shade  of  the  trees,  could 
hear  the  preaching  and  join  heartily  in  the  singing, 


LIFE  SKETCH  33 

which  was  led  by  a  choir  composed  of  the  young  peo- 
ple of  the  neighborhood.  The  platform,  the  seats, 
everything  was  made  at  home.  The  interest  awak- 
ened by  this  co-operative  effort  extended  through  the 
entire  community,  and,  indeed,  to  adjoining  neigh- 
borhoods, and  by  the  time  all  was  finished  the  inter- 
est had  spread  to  the  surrounding  towns,  and  the 
people  began  coming  in  buggies,  carriages,  wagons, 
on  horseback  (this  was  before  the  day  of  automobiles), 
and  the  first  of  a  series  of  camp  meetings  was  held, 
to  the  joy  and  blessing  not  only  of  that  neighbor- 
hood, but  of  the  surrounding  country.  There  were 
large  numbers  of  conversions  and  additions  to  the 
various  churches.  At  the  close  of  the  first  camp 
meeting,  in  about  an  hour,  enough  money  was  raised 
from  the  congregation  then  present  to  build  a  church 
on  the  ground.  This  was  made  a  Union  Church,  and 
erected  for  the  four  denominations — Associate  Re- 
formed, Cumberland  Presbyterian,  Methodist,  Bap- 
tist— then  represented  in  that  neighborhood.  What 
blessed  days  those  were,  when  all  hearts  were  warmed 
into  new  love  for  God  and  for  one  another,  new  cour- 
age to  meet  the  trials  of  life,  new  faith  to  go  forward 
in  all  life's  duties!  These  meetings  were  continued 
through  the  following  two  summers.  Years  after  the 
last  one  was  held,  a  judge  in  Starkville  told  Mr.  Pear- 
son that  the  influence  of  those  meetings  was  still  felt 
in  the  courts  of  the  county. 

Rejoicing  over  the  harvest  that  the  Lord  had  per- 
mitted him  to  reap  during  the  summer,  we  started 
in  the  early  fall  upon  another  ten  months'  campaign 
of  engagements.     In  no  way  can  a  correct  idea  of  the 


34  LIFE  SKETCH 

white  harvest  fields  then  visited  and  the  joyous  reap- 
ing be  so  well  given  as  by  the  men  who  wrote  at  the 
time,  with  all  the  facts  before  them.,  and  their  hearts 
throbbing  with  the  joy  of  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
their  churches  and  communities.  Only  a  few  typ- 
ical ones  can  be  given,  as  selections  from  the  vast 
number. 

Rev.  J.  S.  Cosby,  1888,  writes: 

"The  Rev.  R.  G.  Pearson,  evangelist,  has  just  closed  a  very 
interesting  and  profitable  series  of  preaching  services  in  our 
midst.  It  was  to  some  of  us  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  see 
places  of  business  closed  from  11  to  12  o'clock  every  day,  and  the 
opera  house,  capable  of  holding  from  800  to  1,000  people, 
thronged  at  every  service.  The  attractive  power  of  this  preacher 
for  all  classes  of  our  community  was  to  some  of  us  simply  amaz- 
.  .  ing.  He  is  not  only  attractive,  but  proves  himself  in  the  high- 
Meetiag.  est  degree  a  master  of  assembhes.     The  most  mixed  crowd  that 

we  ever  saw  gathered  in  one  house  sat  or  stood  before  him  from 
time  to  time,  but  under  the  spell  of  his  presence  there  was  never 
any  noise  or  confusion.  Wherein  consists  his  great  power  over 
men?  (For  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  he  has  great  power 
who  can  draw  men  away  from  worldly  business  and  gather  at 
his  feet  twice  a  day  the  very  best  people  in  a  town.)  His  power 
is  not  in  his  bodily  presence,  not  in  the  tones  of  his  voice,  not  in 
his  oratory,  although  he  has  this  gift,  but  in  his  simple,  unaffect- 
ed earnestness,  which  causes  him  to  declare  Bible  truths  with  a 
holy  indifference  to  the  likes  or  dislikes  of  his  hearers.  He  knows 
God,  and  he  knows  man,  and  while  listening  to  him  it  seems  to 
us  that  God  has  revealed  Himself  in  a  high  degree  to  the  inner 
consciousness  of  His  messenger  and  has  given  him  the  key  that 
unlocks  the  secret  drawers  of  men's  hearts.  The  preacher  has 
the  power  of  bringing  face  to  face  the  personal  God  and  the  per- 
sonal sinner,  and  the  issue  is  joined.  He  speaks  to  a  sinner  as 
God's  representative,  and  it  is  done  without  fear  or  seeming  re- 
gard for  men's  opinions.     Mr.  Pearson  is  in  an  eminent  sense 


LIFE  SKETCH  35 

a  Bible  preacher.  He  believes  the  Bible;  it  is  his  sword.  He  not 
only  flashes  it  before  the  faces  of  men,  but  with  it,  by  turns,  he 
slashes  or  pierces  the  corrupt  mass  with  the  holy  energy  of  one 
who  beheves  with  all  his  soul  that  men  must  quit  their  sins  or 
find  themselves  at  last  in  a  hopeless  perdition.  Never  to  such  a 
degree  before  have  we  been  impressed  with  the  wonderful  power 
of  the  simple  word  of  God,  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  unencumbered 
and  unhampered  by  the  well-meant,  wordy  wisdom  of  men.  No 
man  who  heard  Mr.  Pearson's  sermons  in  this  place  could  fail 
to  perceive  that  he  rehed  on  the  'word'  as  the  power  of  God  and 
the  wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation,  and  if  this  failed  to  reach  the 
heart  and  conscience,  it  was  idle  to  resort  for  power  to  the  wis- 
dom of  this  world.  There  were  occasional  flashes  which  showed 
that  the  preacher  was  fairly  abreast  with  the  advanced  thought 
of  the  day,  but  these  flashes  were  like  spontaneous  electric  sparks, 
which  would  leap  out  as  the  finger  of  revealed  truth  made  near 
approach  to  the  plane  of  human  speculations.  While  observing  p^.^  v^^tig 
attentively  and  even  critically  how  this  preacher  handled  the  Inaight. 
word  of  God,  how  he  honored  it,  how  he  used  it  for  offensive  and 
defensive  warfare,  how  powerful  it  was  as  he  used  it,  I  could  not 
but  wish  that  our  theological  students  could  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  attending  the  full  course  of  one  of  Mr.  Pearson's  evan- 
gelistic meetings.  In  saying  this  I  must  not  be  understood  as 
depreciating  the  work  of  professors  in  the  seminary,  for  their  work 
is  basal  and  cannot  be  dispensed  with,  but  as  supplemental  to  a 
seminary  course,  I  beheve  a  few  weeks  spent  under  this  man's 
practical  instruction  would  be  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  our  young 
men,  and  to  the  old  ones  also. 

''Mr.  Pearson  is,  in  the  judgment  of  the  writer  of  this  notice, 
a  great  gospel  preacher;  not  great  in  the  grandiloquent  sense,  but 
in  the  simpHcity  of  his  thought  and  utterance  and  in  his  power 
to  hold  the  earnest  attention  of  old  and  young,  learned  and  un- 
learned, while  he  dehvers  his  message.  He  speaks  as  a  man  who 
is  bent  on  business,  the  solemn  business  of  eternity,  and  so  in- 
tent is  he  on  the  business  that  he  is  sometimes  reckless  of  stilted 
proprieties,  only  increasing  thereby  the  ardor  of  the  interest  he 
has  excited.  He  preaches  Hke  a  man  who  held  a  great  congrega- 
tion between  himself  and  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ,  and  he 


36  LIFE  SKETCH 

felt  liimself  responsible  for  the  faithful  improvement  of  his  oppor- 
tunities to  declare  to  all  their  danger,  their  duty  and  what  they 
must  do  to  be  saved." 

Leader's  Rcv.  Dr.  Plunkctt,  the  pastor,  writes: 

Appreciation. 

Augusta,  1893. 

"Our  city  has  recently  received  a  gracious  spiritual  blessing  in 
a  series  of  meetings,  under  the  leadership  of  the  evangehst,  Rev. 
R.  G.  Pearson.  Mr.  Pearson  came  among  us  a  comparative 
stranger,  but  from  the  beginning  his  preaching  was  not  with  en- 
ticing words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of  the  spirit 
and  power.  As  a  consequence,  his  audiences,  large  from  the 
start,  rapidly  grew,  until  within  a  few  days  the  largest  building 
in  the  city  was  altogether  inadequate  to  accommodate  the  crowds 
that  flocked  to  hear  him. 

"For  about  two  weeks,  with  two  services  daily,  he  preached, 
and  with  each  meeting  the  solemn  interest  deepened,  and  an  ever- 
increasing  number  were  heard  inquiring,  'Men  and  brethren, 
what  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?'  It  is  not  questioned  that  Mr.  Pear- 
son's work  in  this  city  will  stand  the  test  of  time,  for  it  was  noth- 
ing more  than  the  earnest,  honest  and  intelUgent  preaching  of 
the  gospel,  done  in  humblest  rehance  upon  the  Holy  Ghost.  Mr. 
Pearson's  work  is  striking  in  its  absolute  absence  of  all  machinery. 
He  seems  to  abhor  all  sensational  methods,  and  from  the  open- 
ing to  the  closing  of  the  service  there  was  not  an  utterance  or 
thing  that  could  be  objected  to  by  the  most  conservative  mind; 
yet  in  the  Pentecostal  sense  his  preaching  produced  a  profound 
sensation,  for  the  whole  city  was  moved,  and  the  religious  spirit 
brooded  over  the  entire  community." 

{Written  by  Pastor  Presbyterian  Church.) 

A  Whole  Town     ''Never  in  the  history  of  the  writer  has  Newberry  witnessed 
Stirred.  such  scenes  as  have  been  seen  and  felt  and  enjoyed  within  her 

boundaries  within  the  last  two  weeks.  Men,  women  and  chil- 
dren of  all  classes  among  the  whites  (for  the  crowds  have  been  so 
great  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  colored  people  to  be  admit- 
ted), from  the  most  prominent  among  the  professional  and  lead- 
ing citizens  to  the  humblest  bread-winner  in  our  midst,  have 


LIFE  SKETCH  37 

mingled  in  one  dense  mass  of  humanity  that  seemed  to  have  been 
drawn  together  by  an  irresistible  force  and  for  a  common  cause. 
Not  only  have  the  entire  people  of  this  community  been  throng- 
ing day  and  night  to  the  Opera  House,  where  the  services  were 
held,  but  citizens  of  the  surrounding  country,  for  miles  in  every 
direction,  have  crowded  in  to  the  meetings  and  helped  to  swell 
the  great  concourse  of  eager  hsteners  and  anxious  inquirers.  So 
deep  has  been  the  interest  that  business  was  practically  suspended 
during  the  morning  hour  of  service,  and  our  merchants  and  bus- 
iness men  did  not,  but  with  few  exceptions,  resist  the  Spirit  m 
the  earnest  efforts  that  were  made  to  purge  this  town  of  all  un- 
cleanness  and  to  fit  it  for  the  indwelling  of  righteousness.  A  feel- 
ing has  come  over  the  whole  community  that  is  indescribable;  a 
stilhiess  pervaded  even  the  streets,  not  unUke  the  stillness  of 
death,  but  more  Hke  the  serenity  of  a  quiet  Sabbath  of  unex- 
pressed peace  that  passed  understanding— a  stillness  that  has 
penetrated  almost  every  house  of  business,  almost  every  resi- 
dence and  almost  every  heart.  And  a  great  calm  has  settled 
upon  the  community  that  has  made  many  a  young  man  throw 
down  his  cards  and  many  an  older  one  put  aside  his  bottle,  and 
many  a  young  man  resolve  to  give  up  a  frivolous  life.  A  calm 
that  has  made  a  blasphemer  pause  and  the  swearer  cease  his 
swearing,  and  that  has  caused  the  scoffer  to  feel,  if  not  acknow- 
ledge, that  this  deep  silence,  this  solemn  silence,  is  a  forerunner 
of  a  judgment  to  come." 

"The  Lord  has  done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad. 
After  weeks  of  special  services  by  the  pastors  and  the  people  of 
the  town,  preparatory  for  his  arrival,  the  Rev.  R.  G.  Pearson,  of 
Mississippi,  by  invitation  of  the  five  Protestant  churches,  began 
preaching  here  on  Sunday,  October  23,  1888,  and  continued 
holding  two  services  daily  until  Thursday  evening,  the  10th 
of  November.  A  large  brick  warehouse,  capable  of  seating  about 
1,300  people,  was  rented  and  comfortably  fitted  up  for  the  occa- 
sion, into  which  were  often  crowded  1,400  to  1,500  people,  eager 
to  hear  the  gospel,  where  they  were  held  silent  and  spellbound 
by  the  eloquence  of  the  devout  preacher.  At  the  close  of  each 
evening  sermon  an  'after  meeting'  was  held  in  the  Methodist 
Church  nearby,  and  attended  by  crowds  of  anxious  inquirers  and 


38 


LIFE  SKETCH 


Christian  workers.  A  half-dozen  professed  conversion  the  first 
night,  and  more  than  a  score  of  inquirers  presented  themselves 
for  prayer  and  instruction. 

"At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  according  to  the  best  obtainable 
count,  there  were  about  350  persons,  many  of  them  gray-haired 
and  heads  of  families,  who  professed  conversion,  while  over  300 
backshding  but  not  suspended  church  members  professed  resto- 
ration to  hope  and  comfort,  and  pledged  themselves  to  live  anew 
for  Christ.  Of  these  converts  the  Presbyterian  Church  thus  far 
has  received  sixty-six,  and  with  the  addition  of  unaffiKated 
church  residents,  has  made  a  total  of  seventy-five  to  the  church 
roll.  The  Methodist  Church  has  received  about  the  same  num- 
ber, and  about  fifty  more  were  added  to  the  Baptist,  Episcopal 
and  Lutheran,  Additions  thus  far  have  been  about  200,  and 
there  are  still  a  large  number  who  will  be  gathered  in  the  next 
few  months.  Besides  this  there  are  many  professions  of  faith 
from  the  surrounding  country,  who  have  become  attached  to  the 
neighboring  churches.  Rev.  Jethro  Rumple,  D.  D." 


Sandwiched 
Between 
Sullivan  and 
Ingersoll. 


The  following  letter,  bearing  postmark  Knoxville,  March  1st, 
was  received  by  Mr.  Moffett  yesterday: 

"You  will  find  enclosed  three  $1  bills.  Several  years  ago  I 
stole  a  ride  on  an  excursion  train  of  the  old  East  Tennessee,  Vir- 
ginia and  Georgia  Railroad,  After  hearing  Mr.  Pearson  preach 
about  restitution  I  thought  I  ought  to  fix  it  up.  I  suppose  the 
Southern  is  the  successor  of  the  East  Tennessee,  Virginia  and 
Georgia.  If  you  can  tell  what  to  do  with  it,  all  right. 
(Signed), 

"One  Who  Desires  to  Be  Right  With  God  and  Man," 

St.  Joseph,  Mo. 
"Packed  and  jammed  as  closely  as  sardines  in  a  box,  hundreds 
of  people  sat  in  the  entrance  and  on  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  the 
Tootle  Theater  last  night,  waiting  for  the  doors  to  open.  They 
were  attracted  by  the  farewell  sermon  of  EvangeUst  Pearson,  who 
has  been  conducting  meetings  in  the  Congregational  Church  in 
this  city  for  several  weeks.  Many  people  arrived  as  early  as  6 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  as  the  crowd  rapidly  swelled  in  size, 
they  hned  up  on  the  sidewalk  in  front.     The  doors  did  not  open 


LIFE  SKETCH  39 

until  7  o'clock,  and  before  that  hour  arrived  the  rush  and  jam 
was  tremendous.  Finally,  when  the  doors  were  opened,  in  a 
short  time  every  available  inch  of  space  was  taken,  hundreds 
of  people  were  standing,  and  even  the  orchestra  enclosure  was 
filled,  and  the  raiUng  around  it  was  utihzed  for  seats  by  both  men 
and  women. 

"EvangeUst  Pearson  explained  that  the  business  men  of  the 
city  had  secured  the  theatre  for  the  evening  service  and  tendered 
its  use.  His  date  at  the  theatre  was  sandwiched  in  between  John 
L.  SuUivan,  the  prize  fighter,  on  Saturday  night,  and  Bob  Inger- 
soll  on  Monday  night;  but  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  was  the 
mighty  power  which  drew  this  multitude,  far  greater  than  were 
drawn  to  hear  either  of  these  celebrities." 

From  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  we  went  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  PrSlJent  in 
for  a  meeting  with  Dr.  A.  C.  Dixon.  Announcements  s^^'^iy^- 
had  been  made  for  afternoon  and  evening  services. 
But  upon  our  arrival  Mr.  Pearson  told  Dr.  Dixon  that 
for  two  reasons  the  day  services  must  be  held  in  the 
forenoon,  rather  than  in  the  afternoon,  and  that  for 
some  years  he  had  discarded  the  afternoon  meetings. 
The  first  reason  was  that  he  was  not  physically  able 
to  preach  two  sermons  following  so  closely  upon  one 
another.  The  other  reason  was,  as  he  expressed  it, 
''Let  us  give  God  the  best  hour  of  the  day,  and  not 
come  before  Him  with  minds  and  bodies  dulled  and 
wearied  with  the  toil  of  the  day."  "Why,  Pearson," 
said  Dr.  Dixon,  "Brooklyn  people  will  not  come  out 
to  church  at  11  o'clock  on  week  days.  They  have 
always  been  accustomed  to  afternoon  services,  and 
we  could  hardly  expect  them  to  stop  their  work  dur- 
ing the  morning  to  come  to  the  service."  Mr.  Pear- 
son replied:  "If  God's  service  is  worth  while  at  all,  it 


40  LIFE  SKETCH 

is  worth  giving  to  it  the  best  we  can  bring  of  time, 
strength  and  effort." 

At  the  regular  Sunday  morning  service  next  day 
Mr.  Pearson  himself  announced  from  the  pulpit  the 
program  of  meetings  for  the  following  week,  and  gave 
to  the  audience  his  reasons  for  using  the  morning  hour. 

To  the  surprise  of  Dr.  Dixon  and  the  people  them- 
selves, a  large  audience  greeted  the  preacher  the  fol- 
lowing Monday  morning,  and  continued  to  do  so 
through  the  entire  series  of  services,  lasting  two  weeks. 

All  finally  agreed  that  the  morning  hour  was  the 
best  time,  for  the  day  audiences  were  larger  than  they 
had  ever  been  in  the  afternoons,  the  people  coming 
fresh  to  the  service  received  greater  good,  and  God 
richly  rewarded  any  sacrifice  that  was  made. 
UnbeUeveS.  Every  section  of  our  own  country,  as  well  as  every 
nation,  has  its  own  peculiar  needs  and  difficulties. 
This  was  illustrated  in  Brooklyn  by  the  remarkable 
result  of  a  special  sermon  preached  from  the  text, 
'Tf  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  come  down  from  the 
cross." — Matthew  27:40.  In  this  sermon,  like  Paul 
at  Thessalonica,  he  ''reasoned  with  them  out  of  the 
Scriptures,  opening  and  alleging  that  Christ  must 
needs  to  have  suffered  and  to  have  risen  from  the 
dead,"  and  showed  by  the  Scriptures  why  Christ  could 
not  come  down  from  the  cross,  with  the  result  that  a 
multitude,  not  of  Greeks,  but  of  American  citizens, 
believed. 

Dr.  Dixon  told  him  that  a  very  large  number  of 
men — leading  business  men  of  the  city — had,  through 
that  Scripture  teaching,  been  turned  from  unbelief  to 
acceptance  of  Christ. 


LIFE  SKETCH 


41 


That  sermon  has  a  history.  During  Mr.  Pearson's 
first  pastorate  a  man,  intellectual,  scholarly,  gave 
him  to  read  a  book  denying  the  divinity  of  our  Loid, 
which  adduced  the  strongest  arguments  that  the  most 
astute  minds  had  yet  brought  against  the  claims  of 
Jesus  Christ.  It  challenged  everything  which  he  had 
been  accepting  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  book 
stirred  him  deeply,  and  he  realized  that  he  must  an- 
swer those  arguments  to  his  own  satisfaction  or  never 
preach  again.  With  determined  purpose  and  ear- 
nest prayer  he  set  himself  to  the  task,  with  the  result 
that  not  only  was  he  ever  afterwards  stablished,  set- 
tled, but  that  through  the  years,  from  the  Scriptures 
themselves,  he  was  enabled  to  bring  arguments  that 
won  hundreds  of  unbelievers  to  faith  in  Christ. 

**Two  thousand  people  heard  Dr.  Pearson  preach  his  farewell 
sermon  in  Savannah  last  night.  The  body  of  the  church,  the 
galleries,  aisles,  doorways,  vestibule,  choir  loft  and  every  other 
available  space  where  a  person  could  sit  or  stand  was  filled. 
Probably  as  many  people  were  turned  away  as  found  seats.  The 
First  Presbyterian  Church  was  filled  with  the  overflow.  The 
text  for  his  sermon  was  Matthew  27:22,  "What  shall  I  do  then 
with  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ?'  Theie  were  just  three  points, 
he  said,  from  which  he  would  consider  the  text: 

"1.  You  must  do  something  with  Jeeus  which  is  called  the 
Christ;  2.  You  have  done  something  with  Jesus;  3.  What  you 
finally  do  with  Jesus  will  decide  what  he  will  finally  do  with  you. 

"For  about  an  hour  he  pressed  the  claims  of  Jesus  Christ  upon 
that  serious  congregation.  There  were  about  100  persons  pro- 
fessing conversion  at  the  closing  service. 

"A  brief  resume  of  the  meetings  conducted  here  by  Dr.  Pear- 
son will  not  be  inappropriate.  The  attendance  upon  the  night 
services  was  from  1,500  to  2,000;  the  day  services  attendance 
was  usually  from  800  to  1,000;  the  total  attendance  must  have 
exceeded  50,000." 


History  of 
a  Sermon. 


Following 
Whitfield 
and  Wesley 
in  Savannah. 


42 


LIFE  SKETCH 


A   Southern 

Editor's 

Estimate. 

(Josephua 

Daniels.) 


''Although  the  News  and  Observer  is  a  secular  paper,  yet  we 
conceive  that  such  a  phenomenal  rehgious  movement  among  our 
people  as  that  now  in  progress  is  an  appropriate  subject  for  our 
reflections,  especially  as  this  is  the  Sabbath,  when  we  are  privi- 
leged to  turn,  in  some  measure,  away  from  the  subjects  that  have 
occupied  us  during  the  week. 

"Raleigh  has  never  been  so  stirred  as  dm-ing  the  period  of  the 
ministrations  of  Rev.  Mr.  Pearson.  On  other  occasions  there 
have  been  evoked  warm  emotions,  which  doubtless  left  their  im- 
press, especially  on  tender,  loving  hearts  and  plastic  natures. 
But  this  season  of  evangehstic  exertion  in  our  midst  has  been  of 
another  character,  and  it  is  Hkely  to  be  unparalleled  in  its  influ- 
ence upon  our  population.  For  almost  a  fortnight  the  sole  topic 
of  conversation  has  been  Mr.  Pearson  and  his  work.  Public 
thought  has  centered  on  the  teachings  of  this  remarkable  man, 
and  in  a  general  way  we  may  say  the  entire  communitj^  has  been 
in  sympathy  with  his  utterances  and  swayed  by  his  powers.  It 
is  certainly  a  remarkable  spectacle.  If  the  church  in  which  he 
preaches  were  large  enough,  his  audiences  would  number  thous- 
ands. Our  citizens  crowd  to  hear  him  and  press  into  the  build- 
ing as  if  moved  by  an  unseen  power.  Day  after  day  he  minis- 
ters continually,  and  his  teachings  strike  the  chords  of  the  pop- 
ular heart  so  strongly  that  there  has  been  a  steady  growth  of 
interest  as  the  period  of  his  labor  has  been  prolonged. 

"It  is  bootless  for  us  to  inquire  into  the  source  of  his  power  or 
to  attempt  an  analysis  of  those  gifts  which  lend  to  his  ministra- 
tions their  charm  and  influence.  We  content  ourselves  with 
recording  the  fact,  leaving  the  explanation  to  those  who  are  adept 
or  curious  in  such  matters.  That  he  moves  the  hearts  of  the 
people,  that  he  convinces  their  understanding,  that  he  leads  them 
to  reahze  the  need  of  a  personal  religion,  is  true  beyond  question. 
That  he  inspires  faith,  creates  a  desire  to  lead  a  Christian  Ufe, 
and  brings  home  to  the  people  a  sense  of  their  unworthiness  is 
also  beyond  question.  Where  such  results  are  effected  among 
great  masses  of  the  people,  the  influence  is  as  wonderful  in  its 
nature  as  it  is  beneficial  in  its  exercise.  Great  good  must  ensue. 
The  people  must  needs  be  benefited.  The  graces  of  a  Christian 
hfe,  the  spirit  of  our  blessed  religion,  with  all  its  loving  kindness, 


LIFE  SKETCH  43 

with  all  its  tenderness,  with  all  its  charity,  with  all  its  glorious 
hopes  and  steadfast  faith,  will  assuredly  enter  more  largely  into 
the  character  of  our  people  than  before,  and  they  will  come  to 
perform  more  perfectly  than  ever  their  full  duty  to  their  neigh- 
bor, as  well  as  to  their  Maker."  A  Veteran 

"The  way  for  Mr.  Pearson's  mission  to  this  city  had  been  pre-  Estimate. 
pared  by  the  faithful  labors  of  two  evangehsts,  who  had  preceded 
him — one  in  the  Baptist  and  one  in  the  Methodist  Church.  It 
seems  to  us  Hke  the  direct  ordering  of  the  Spirit  of  God  that  he 
who  came  to  deliver  the  closing  counsels  should  have  recognized 
as  his  peculiar  mission  to  cement  the  mass  of  confusion  and  emo- 
tion which  had  been  generated  through  the  teachings  of  his  fore- 
runners, by  the  application  to  every  part  of  the  plastic  power  of 
Bible  doctrine,  and  to  precipitate,  as  it  were,  the  floating  thoughts 
and  feelings  which  lay  in  the  minds  of  his  hearers,  through  the 
electric  touch  of  God's  truth,  into  crystaUized  forms  of  Christian 
belief  and  purpose. 

"The  evangehst's  personahty  is  quite  lost  sight  of  in  the  themes 
with  which  his  soul  is  evidently  absorbed  and  inspired,  and  the 
fervor  and  force  of  his  conceptions  are  irresistibly  conveyed  to 
the  minds  of  those  who  are  listening  to  him. 

"Mr.  Pearson  is  mighty  in  dealing  with  the  hearts  and  con- 
sciences of  men,  because  he  is  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  mighty 
in  his  knowledge  of  and  faith  in  them  and  mighty  in  his  aptness 
in  expounding  and  applying  them. 

"Mr.  Pearson  came  to  us  a  stranger.  As  he  leaves  us,  hundreds 
bear  witness  to  the  effect  of  his  preaching  upon  their  hearts;  the 
whole  community,  irrespective  of  denomination,  has  been  drawn 
to  him  by  respect  and  gratitude. 

"The  vast  opportunity  of  this  work  cannot  be  expressed  by 
statistics.  The  increase  in  the  membership  in  all  of  the  churches 
has  been  large.  At  the  next  communion  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  there  will  be  more  than  100  to  be  received  upon  profes- 
sion of  faith.  The  majority  of  these  are  young  men  and  young 
women,  who  have  been  brought  up  under  the  training  of  the 
church,  and  who  now,  in  their  maturity,  revive  the  vows  made 
for  them  by  believing  parents  at  their  baptism. 

''Natchez,  Miss.,  1890."  "Rev.  J.  B.  Stratton,  D.  D. 


44  LIFE  SKETCH 

^^^^-  "It  is  ended.     The  great  meeting  of  the  Tabernacle  closed  last 

night.  There  were  about  4,000  people  present  to  witness  the 
closing  scenes  and  to  say  good-bye  and  bid  Godspeed  to  Evange- 
list Pearson,  who  has  preached  so  faithfully  and  so  ably  the  sim- 
ple words  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  the  people  of  Montgomery. 
His  sermon  last  night  was  upon  the  judgment — his  last  message 
to  the  men  of  Montgomery.  He  pointed  out  the  certainty  of  the 
judgment,  saying,  'It  is  as  certain  as  death.'  And  then  the  scru- 
tiny of  the  judgment,  the  scrutiny  of  a  God  who  sees  through 
and  through  the  human  heart.  And  third,  the  absolute  equity 
of  the  judgment.  How  different  from  the  judgment  of  men  down 
here!  No  packed  juries  or  corrupt  judges  or  ex-parte  arguments 
there.  There  men  will  get  justice,  though  that  is  what  many 
people  do  not  want.  Fourth,  the  supremacy  of  the  judgment. 
In  this  life  many  can  secure  new  trials  and  stave  off  trials  in  va- 
rious ways.  The  witnesses  may  die  or  move  away,  but  none  of 
that  will  be  at  God's  judgment.  He  is  all  the  courts  in  one,  and 
there  is  no  appeal  from  His  throne.  It  will  be  final  and  supreme. 
Thus  ended  one  of  the  most  effective  and  powerful  sermons  of 
the  whole  meeting.  Preacher  and  congregation  were  visibly 
stirred." 

In  order  that  it  may  be  seen  whether  the  perma- 
nent results  of  this  work,  as  predicted  by  men  who 
wrote  under  the  influence  of  the  meetings  at  that  time, 
have  been  realized,  we  give  now  the  testimonies  of 
some  who  have  watched  that  influence  through 
twenty-five  years  and  more,  and  who,  from  their 
knowledge  of  the  facts  then  and  now,  give  their  word 
of  testimony.  First  among  these  is  from  an  elder  in 
Charlotte,  who  was  instrumental  in  bringing  Mr. 
Pearson  to  the  Carolinas. 


May  15,  1913. 
tte  in  the  mon 
one-half  weel 
The  initiative  of  this  meeting  was  taken  by  the  Young  Men's 


Charlotte  "The  Pcarson  meetings  were  held  in  Charlotte  in  the  month 

of  February,   1887,  and  continued  three  and  one-half  weeks. 


LIFE  SKETCH  45 

Christian  Association,  which  at  that  time  did  not  amount  to  more 
than  a  young  men's  prayer  meeting,  held  in  an  upper  room,  with 
an  occasional  'reading'  and  'spelUng  bee.'  There  had  been  no 
general  revival  of  rehgion  in  this  city  for  a  generation,  and  it 
seemed  to  at  least  one  member  of  the  association  that  the  time 
was  ripe  for  evangelistic  effort.  In  January  this  member  saw  in 
the  Christian  Observer  an  account  of  a  great  meeting  held  by  Dr. 
Pearson  in  Vicksburg,  Miss.  He  wrote  to  the  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Vicksburg,  and  received  an  enthusiastic 
letter  in  regard  to  the  meeting  and  its  results,  giving  Dr.  Pear- 
son's address.  This  member  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  brought  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  the  ministers 
of  Charlotte,  who  were  at  the  time  holding  the  annual  meetings 
for  prayer,  and  they  almost  unanimously  agreed  to  call  Dr.  Pear- 
son to  Charlotte.  This  was  his  first  meeting  in  the  Piedmont 
section.  The  results  of  that  meeting  were  wonderful;  people  of 
all  classes  and  conditions  flocked  to  the  night  meetings;  the  after- 
noon meetings  were  also  well  attended,  chiefly  by  Christians  who 
reaUzed  great  benefit  to  themselves.  The  total  number  of  con- 
versions was  about  800,  embracing  men  and  women  of  all  classes 
and  conditions — middle-aged  business  men,  gamblers,  drunk- 
ards, women  of  the  under-world,  though  a  large  proportion  of 
them  were  our  own  people  and  young  people  connected  by  fam- 
iUes  with  our  churches.  Being  in  a  position  to  observe  the  later 
conduct  of  these  conversions,  I  am  able  to  say  that  they  gave  evi- 
dence in  their  after  life  of  a  great  change  that  had  taken  place." 

Dr.  A.  D.  McClure  writes: 

Ajyril  SO,  1913. 

"At  the  invitation  of  the  Evangelical  AUiance,  Rev.  R.  G.    ^^i^J^^ 
Pearson  held  in  Wilmington,  N.  C,  in  the  spring  of  1888,  that 
which  has  made  an  epoch  in  the  reUgious  history  of  the  city  and 
community. 

"Prayerful  preparation  had  been  made  for  his  coming.  The 
meetings,  which  were  held  in  the  Champion  Compress,  were  well 
attended  from  the  first  service  to  the  last.  As  some  results  of 
these  services  there  were  about  1,000  professions  of  faith,  and 
the  entire  city  was  profoundly  stirred  and  moved  to  better  things. 


46 


LIFE  SKETCH 


A  Good 
Samaritan. 


With  Moody 
at  the 
World's  Fair, 


A  place  of  bad  repute,  known  as  'Paddy's  Hollow,'  was  purchased, 
and  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  erected  on  the  spot. 
Many  additions  were  received  into  the  churches.  The  Second 
Presbyterian  erected  a  larger  house  of  worship  and  began  a  ca- 
reer of  enlarged  usefulness.  Many  men  of  mark  and  influence 
were  brought  to  Christ  and  the  Church.  The  great  revival  is 
still  a  landmark,  to  which  reference  is  made  in  every  good  meet- 
ing held  in  the  place." 

From  Charleston,  S.  C,  at  the  close  of  meetings  in 
that  city,  we  went  next  to  Baltimore,  beginning  evan- 
gelistic meetings  in  the  large  Baptist  Tabernacle,  of 
which  Dr.  A.  C.  Dixon  was  pastor.  In  the  beginning 
of  that  meeting  Mr.  Pearson  w^as  taken  suddenly  ill 
in  the  pulpit — an  illness  w^hich  proved  to  be  the  be- 
ginning of  typhoid  fever,  which  kept  us  in  Baltimore 
for  more  than  a  month. 

There  are  Christian  kindnesses  which  were  show^n 
us  by  some  of  God's  dear  children  in  that  city  that 
deserve  mention  in  this  life  sketch.  A  good  physi- 
cian, Dr.  A.  C.  Pole,  one  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  prac- 
titioners, was  in  the  audience  the  night  that  Mr. 
Pearson  left  the  pulpit  on  account  of  that  sudden  ill- 
ness, and  came  at  once  to  him  as  he  left  the  pulpit. 

When,  after  a  few  days,  typhoid  symptoms  were 
discovered,  this  good  Samaritan  took  him  to  his  own 
home,  where,  with  the  cordial  Christian  co-operation 
of  his  wife,  he  was  kept  and  tenderly  cared  for  until, 
fully  recovered  from  what  proved  to  be  a  typical  three 
weeks'  case  of  typhoid,  we  returned  to  our  own  home 
with  grateful  hearts  and  renewed  strength  for  our 
Master's  service. 

Leaving  Montgomery  at  the  close  of  the  meeting 
there,   we  went   to   Chicago,   by   invitation   of   Mr. 


LIFE  SKETCH  47 

Moody,  where  so  many  of  the  world  workers  were 
gathered  during  the  World's  Fair.  It  was  truly  a 
great  faith  of  a  great  man  that  conceived  and  carried 
out  a  plan  of  such  stupendous  magnitude  as  was  that 
evangelistic  campaign.  Meetings  were  held  all  over 
the  city — in  tents,  halls,  churches,  theatres — con- 
ducted by  men  from  Europe  and  all  parts  of  the 
United  States,  who  were  giving  the  gospel  to  the  peo- 
ple of  every  nationality  in  that  great  city.  It  was  a 
privilege  and  joy  to  meet  and  hear  those  strong,  faith- 
ful servants  of  God  from  every  land. 

One  interesting  incident  of  a  somewhat  unique  ex-  Experience. 
perience  is  worth  recording.  On  the  first  Sunday 
morning  after  our  arrival  Mr.  Moody  preached  in  the 
Haymarket  Theatre  to  an  audience  that  filled  not 
only  the  lower  floor,  but  every  gallery,  as  they  rose 
tier  upon  tier.  Mr.  Pearson  spoke  to  a  similar  audi- 
ence at  the  same  hour  in  the  Empire  Theatre,  several 
blocks  distant.  When  the  sermons  were  ended  in 
both  buildings  the  people  rem.ained  seated.  Mr. 
Moody  left  the  choir  singing,  and  hastening  to  the 
Empire  Theatre,  said  to  Mr.  Pearson  that  it  seemed 
the  people  in  each  place  were  waiting  for  another  ser- 
mon, and  then  added:  "Pearson,  you  go  over  to  the 
Haymarket  and  preach  for  my  congregation,  and  I 
will  preach  to  yours  here."  While  the  choir  was  sing- 
ing they  made  the  exchange,  and  each  of  them 
preached  two  sermons  without  taking  a  seat,  and 
those  two  immense  congregations  each  heard  two 
sermons  before  leaving  the  house.  In  the  two  the- 
atres fully  7,000  people  were  gathered  that  Sunday 
morning. 


48  LIFE  SKETCH 

The  results  that  followed  we  will  not  know  till  the 
great  day  of  reckoning,  but  a  precious  note  received 
next  day  by  Mr.  Pearson  from  a  man,  which  told  how 
he  had  gone  into  the  theatre  that  morning  a  careless, 
thoughtless  sinner,  but  while  listening  to  the  sermon 
he  had  turned  with  deep  contrition  of  sin  to  God,  and 
left  the  house  rejoicing  in  a  Saviour's  love,  gives  some 
hint  of  the  Spirit's  presence  as  He  brooded  over  those 
vast  audiences. 
Asheviiie.  After  ycars  of  travel,  with  no  place  to  call  home, 

there  came  a  yearning  for  some  permanent  abiding 
place — a  place  where  books  could  be  kept  and  where 
could  be  found  the  rest  and  abandon  that  is  known 
only  in  one's  own  home.  Asheville,  N.  C,  was  se- 
lected, and  for  fifteen  years  we  returned  there  from 
summer  to  summer,  at  the  close  of  long  campaigns, 
for  rest  and  preparation  for  the  labors  of  the  coming 
season.  The  training  received  on  the  farm  was  of 
very  practicable  value  then,  where  one  acre  of  ground 
was  made  to  yield  the  greatest  abundance  of  fruit  and 
vegetables,  and  at  the  same  time  the  exercise  In  gar- 
dening and  in  pruning  and  bagging  grapes  afforded 
delightful  recreation  from  study.  Mr.  Pearson  loved 
his  home  and  found  pleasure  in  all  of  the  duties  that 
belong  to  home-keeping.  Because  of  difficulty  in 
getting  servants  to  keep  even  heat  in  the  furnace,  he 
assumed  the  care  of  the  furnace  himself.  While  wait- 
ing in  the  mornings  for  the  small  quantity  of  anthra- 
cite coal  first  thrown  in  to  kindle  sufficiently  before 
adding  the  amount  for  the  day,  he  occupied  those 
waiting  moments  in  profitable  thinking.  Coming 
from  the  furnace  room  one  morning,  he  gave  as  the 


LIFE  SKETCH  49 

result  of  his  cogitations  this  original  conundrum: 
"What  is  the  heat  from  anthracite  coal?"  "It  is  sun- 
shine which  has  been  kept  in  coal  (cold)  storage." 

A  side  light  of  those  days  from  Dr.  R.  F.  Campbell 
gives  a  glimpse  of  his  life  at  home: 

"It  was  my  privilege  to  be  closely  associated  with  Dr.  R.  G. 
Pearson  during  his  residence  at  Asheville.  His  good  wife  was 
an  earnest  and  active  member  of  my  church,  and  he  attended 
with  her  when  they  were  at  home.  His  words  of  sympathy  and 
appreciation  were  a  great  encouragement  to  me  in  my  ministry. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  pungent  preachers  I  ever 
heard,  and  when  it  was  known  that  he  was  to  p^-each  in  any  one 
of  the  churches  in  Asheville,  the  house  was  always  crowded.  It 
was  my  good  fortune  on  one  occasion  to  be  a  guest  in  his  home 
for  a  few  days.  His  table  talk  was  brilhant,  covering  a  wide 
range,  touching  political,  economic  and  religious  questions.  His 
speech  was  always  with  grace,  seasoned  with  salt.  He  was  a 
great  preacher,  teacher  and  conversationalist,  a  humble  disciple 
of  the  Master  and  a  loyal  friend." 

Finding  the  strain  of  incessant  work  beginning  to  SjoHent. 
tell  on  his  endurance,  his  physician  prescribed  a  va- 
cation and  an  ocean  voyage.  The  "Land  of  the 
Book"  was  first  thought  of,  and  the  prospect  of  a 
visit  to  Palestine  filled  him  with  delightful  anticipa- 
tion, especially  when  that  object  of  travel  coincided 
with  the  benefit  of  a  long  voyage. 

We  left  for  New  York  in  August,  1891,  and  returned 
by  the  South  Atlantic  route  the  last  of  December, 
having  spent  Christmas  week  on  the  ocean  steamer. 
Our  journey  was  through  France,  Greece,  Turkey  to 
Palestine,  returning  by  way  of  Egypt,  through  Italy. 
Here  is  a  characteristic  letter  written  for  the  Ashe- 


50  LIFE  SKETCH 

ville  Citizen  from  Athens,  Greece,  which  was  the  first 
city  of  the  Old  World  w^e  reached: 

Athens,  Greece,  September  25,  1891. 
Letter  from  Dear  Citizen:  Our  party  sailed  from  New  York  September  5, 

'and  we  had  a  safe  and  pleasant  voyage.  Landed  at  Havre  and 
went  to  Paris  for  a  stay  of  some  days,  and  took  in  the  city,  giv- 
ing especial  attention  to  the  Lou\Te,  the  Tomb  of  Napoleon  and 
Eiffel  Tower.  From  Paris  we  went  through  Lj'ons  and  on  to 
Marseilles,  thence  across  the  Mediterranean  to  Athens,  Greece, 
of  which  Aristophanes  exclaims:  'O  thou,  our  Athens,  violet 
WTeathed,  brilliant,  most  enviable  city!' 

"It  is  wonderful  how  the  ancient  and  modern  mingle  here. 
Here  are  the  works  of  Pericles  and  Phidias,  and  those  of  Morse 
and  Edison.  Here  are  the  varieties  of  dress  from  the  ancient 
Greek  costume  to  the  last  developed  style  of  Paris  and  New  York . 

"Yesterday  I  stood  on  Mar's  Hill,  where  Paul  preached,  and 
on  the  brink  where  Demosthenes  delivered  his  philippics,  and 
on  the  top  of  the  Acropolis,  amidst  the  ruined  splendor  of  the 
Parthenon.  Also  visited  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Olympus  and 
the  Theatre  of  Dionysius.  Both  of  these  structures  a^e  magnifi- 
cent in  ruin. 

"In  the  distance  I  saw  the  beautiful  Bay  of  Salamis,  as  Byron 
saj^s,  'Unconquered  Salamis.' 

"To-day  I  attended  the  funeral  services  of  the  daughter  of  the 
present  King  of  Greece.  The  services  were  held  in  the  Greek 
Church,  and  were  imposing  and  impressive. 

"Near  this  church  stands  the  Parthenon  and  Mars  Hill,  and 
as  I  looked  at  a  Christian  church  and  a  Christian  funeral,  I  could 
but  soliloquize  thus:  Ye  'gods  of  Athens,'  ye  are  gone,  but  the 
everlasting  gospel  of  Christ  is  he^e  to  stay.  The  eloquence  of 
Demosthenes  is  of  the  past;  the  court  of  the  Areopagus  has  ad- 
journed' sine  die;  but  the  gospel  preached  by  Paul  on  Mars  Hill  is 
being  echoed  by  one  hundred  church  bells  from  Salamis  to  Mar- 
athon. 

"Well  might  the  apostate  Julian  say,  when  dying:  'Galhlean, 
thou  hast  conquered !'  To-night  we  sup  with  the  American  Con- 
sul, and  to-morrow  sail  for  Constantinople. 

"R.  G.  Pearson." 


LIFE  SKETCH  51 

After  returning  home  lectures  on  these  various 
countries  were  given.  Brief  extracts  from  a  lecture 
on  Egypt  will  give  further  insight  into  his  character- 
istic style  and  manner  of  thought: 

"As  the  Bible  among  books  is  the  oldest,  the  newest,  the  fresh-  f^prefsS^* 
est,  the  most  inexhaustible,  so  Egypt  among  inhabited  lands  is  Him. 
the  oldest,  the  newest,  the  most  unexplored  and  inexhaustible. 
From  childhood  I  have  been  interested  in  Egypt,  and  my  read- 
ing of  the  Scriptural  account  of  the  Egyptian  bondage  and  exodus 
had  greatly  impressed  and  interested  me  in  the  land  of  the  Pha- 
raohs. Those  early  impressions  were  increased  a  thousand-fold 
when  once  I  had  set  foot  on  Egyptian  soil.  I  found  myself  thor- 
oughly interested  in  everything — things  above  ground  and  under 
the  ground,  the  animate  and  the  inanimate,  with  the  hving  and 
the  dead,  with  the  past,  the  present  and  the  future.  And  now 
not  as  a  scientist,  not  as  an  archaeologist,  nor  as  an  Egyptolo- 
gist, but  as  an  unpretending  American  tourist,  I  wish  to  tell 
you  how  Egypt  impressed  me. 

"How  a  country  of  such  shape  and  such  size,  a  mere  strip  of 
land,  hedged  in  on  two  sides  by  burning,  desolate,  impassable 
deserts,  could  have  been  the  cradle  of  the  sciences  and  the  con- 
queror and  the  civihzer  of  nations,  was  to  me  an  impressive  truth. 

"The  pahn  is  the  king  among  trees,  and  it  cannot  be  overesti-  -pj^g  Palm. 
mated  as  a  blessing  to  the  people  of  the  Nile  Valley,  all  the  way 
from  the  Delta  to  the  equatorial  lakes  of  Central  Africa.  The 
Arabs  say  'that  when  God  made  man  there  was  left  a  small  piece 
of  clay,  and  out  of  that  He  made  the  palm  tree.'  If  we  will  re- 
member that  the  f^'uit  of  this  tree  furnishes  the  Arab  his  bread 
and  wine,  the  wood,  rafters  for  his  house,  the  branches  a  roof  for 
his  hut,  and  the  bark  material  for  ropes  and  baskets,  then  we  will 
not  think  his  legend  extravagant. 

"When  I  first  visited  Florida  and  saw  an  orange  grove  laden 
with  fruit,  I  thought  no  tree  could  surpass  that  for  beauty.  But 
when  I  saw  the  Eg>T3tian  palm  grove,  where  each  tree  was  straight 
as  an  arrow,  forty  feet  without  a  Umb,  cT-owned  at  the  top  with 
cone-hke  crest  of  green,  graceful  palm  leaves,  and  just  below 
these,  hanging  in  profusion,  clusters  of  golden  fruit,  I  felt  that 


A  New  Work, 


52  LIFE  SKETCH 

the  orange  g^ove  must  yield  the  pahn  of  victory  to  its  legitimate 
owTier,  the  Egyptian  palm. 

"The  Bible  says  the  'righteous  shall  flourish  Hke  the  palm 
tree.'  Beautiful  and  interesting  are  the  suggested  analogies. 
The  palm  grows  straight,  points  ever  heavenward,  strikes  its 
roots  deep,  bears  fruit,  needs  pruning,  and  is  a  thing  of  joy  and 
beauty  forever." 

An  epidemic  of  Asiatic  Cholera,  raging  in  Pales- 
tine, interfered  with  the  plan  to  spend  most  of  the 
time  in  the  Holy  Land. 

Returning  to  our  home  in  Asheville  for  a  short  stay, 
we  went  forth  again  to  meet  engagements  that  were 
made  before  our  departure  in  travel. 

This  was  continued  until  there  developed  serious 
organic  heart  trouble.  Expert  counsel  was  sought, 
and  from  Dr.  Janeway,  of  New  York,  and  good  phy- 
sicians in  Asheville,  a  thorough  diagnosis  was  made 
and  instruction  given  as  to  intelligent  care  of  himself. 
At  first  his  condition  seemed  so  serious  that  it  was 
thought  his  life  work  was  finished,  but,  following  the 
instructions  given  him  with  patient  perseverance,  the 
compensation  which  physicians  told  him  was  the  one 
possible  hope  took  place,  and  ten  years  were  added 
to  his  life  and  a  different  field  of  service  appointed  by 
the  Lord  Himself. 

Leading  out  from  evangelistic  preaching  to  semi- 
nary teaching  was  another  of  the  clear,  providential 
orderings  that  was  gratefully  recognized  through  life. 
Becoming  convinced,  after  repeated  trials,  that  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  continue  the  arduous  work 
of  traveling  and  incessant  speaking,  we  decided  to 
return  home  at  the  close  of  a  meeting  at  Huntsville, 
Ala.,  looking  to  God  to  make  plain  His  will  concern- 


LIFE  SKETCH  53 

ing  any  further  service  He  had  for  him  to  do.  Travel- 
ing through  the  beautiful  middle  Tennessee  country, 
running  toward  Nashville,  where  a  few  days  were  to 
be  spent,  while  sitting  quietly  thinking  over  the  past 
and  looking  out  wonderingly  toward  the  future,  there 
came  to  Mrs.  Pearson  a  very  distinct  impression.  She 
was  deeply  impressed  and  surprised,  and  after  think-  Guidance 
ing  it  over  to  herself  for  a  time,  she  turned  to  her  hus- 
band and  said:  "A  very  strong  impression  has  come 
to  me  in  the  last  half-hour  that  there  is  a  work  in  Leb- 
anon, Tenn.,  which  God  would  have  you  do."  He 
replied:  "I  can't  imagine  what  it  is."  "Nor  can  I," 
she  said,  "but  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  something  in 
connection  with  the  university."  'T  cannot  teach," 
he  said;  'T  know  how  to  do  nothing  but  preach." 
"Perhaps  so,"  she  answered,  "but  the  impression  re- 
mains very  clear  and  strong  in  my  mind." 

Going  on  to  Nashville  that  night,  and  sitting  with 
a  friend  in  the  parlor,  the  doorbell  rang,  and  a  tele- 
gram was  handed  to  Mr.  Pearson.  He  read  it,  turn- 
ing to  his  wife,  said:  "This  is  from  Lebanon,  saying  a 
committee  from  Lebanon  will  call  to-morrow."  They 
each  looked  at  the  other  and  said:  "That  looks  like 
confirming  the  remarkable  impression."  The  com- 
mittee called  the  next  day,  and  in  their  interview 
stated  that  there  was  a  plan  on  foot  to  establish  a 
chair  of  the  English  Bible  in  the  seminary  at  Lebanon, 
which  was  one  department  of  the  university,  and  they 
wanted  to  find  if  he  would  take  that  chair.  He  said : 
"I  will  prayerfully  consider  the  matter."  Going 
from  Nashville  to  our  home,  and  waiting  still  further 
on  God  to  know  His  will  surely,  there  seemed  nothing 


54 


LIFE  SKETCH 


At  Work  in 
Lebanon. 


A  Brother 
Professor's 
Statement. 


lacking  in  every  detail  to  dispose  of  home  and  fur- 
nishings, so  that  the  way  was  made  as  easy  and  plain 
as  could  be  asked,  and  the  conviction  to  both  was  that 
this  was  the  will  of  God  for  him. 

Entering  upon  his  work  at  Lebanon  with  this  set- 
tled conviction,  he  gave  himself  to  that  less  taxing 
service  with  the  same  faithful,  painstaking  care  that 
had  characterized  his  life.  It  was  a  joy  to  him  to 
have  more  time  for  study — careful,  analytical  study 
of  the  Bible — and  that  joy  was  heightened  by  the  con- 
sciousness that  the  results  of  that  study  could  at  once 
be  given  to  the  young  men  in  the  seminary,  prepar- 
ing them  to  go  forth  as  preachers  of  that  word.  With 
burning  zeal  he  sought  to  impress  upon  the  young  men 
the  importance  of  loyalty  to  the  w^ord  of  God  and  de- 
pendence upon  that  in  their  ministry,  especially  in 
this  day  when  men,  even  in  the  pulpits,  are  denying 
its  teachings  and  are  substituting  human  opinions  for 
God's  authority.  Seven  complete  years  of  service  in 
the  seminary  at  Lebanon  were  fulfilled.  Every  book 
in  the  Bible  was  diligently  studied,  carefully  analyzed, 
and  full  notes  of  the  outline  written  out.  Then  came 
the  union  of  the  C.  P.  and  U.  S.  A.  churches,  and  the 
seminary  at  Lebanon  was  united  with  Lane  Seminary, 
in  Cincinnati.  A  brother  professor,  F.  K.  Farr,  gives 
a  brief  account  of  association  with  him  then : 

"It  was  a  source  of  great  satisfaction  to  the  faculty  and  all  the 
friends  of  the  Lebanon  Theological  Seminary,  the  Theological 
Department  of  Cumberland  University,  when,  in  190.3,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  R.  G.  Pearson  consented  to  take  up  the  work  of  the  chai''  of 
the  English  Bible  and  Evangelistic  Methods.  It  was  almost  en- 
tirely a  labor  of  love  on  Dr.  Pearson's  part;  the  seminary,  with 


LIFE  SKETCH  55 

its  limited  income,  was  not  able  to  promise  him  an  adequate  sal- 
ary. Dr.  Pearson's  rich  experience  was  freely  placed  at  the  ser- 
vice of  his  students.  His  methods  and  outlines  of  classroom 
w^ork  were  original  with  himself,  and  their  merit  was  proved  by 
the  results.  The  dull  we^-e  aroused,  the  superficial  were  inspired 
to  deeper  study;  the  earnest  student  was  encouraged  to  greater 
efforts.  In  the  difficult  task  of  faculty  criticism  of  the  pubUc 
efforts  of  students  at  'rhetoricals'  Dr.  Pearson  led  his  colleagues. 
With  wit  which  'stuck,  but  never  stung,'  he  was  ready  to  disclose 
a  fault,  w^hether  of  matter  or  of  manner,  so  clearly  to  him  who 
had  committed  it  that  his  counsels  seldom  needed  repetition. 
In  his  intercourse  with  his  colleagues  and  in  the  meetings  of  the 
faculty  he  was  a  wise  counselor  and  one  who  never  spared  him- 
seK  in  the  discharge  of  any  duty  of  administration  which  fell  to 
his  lot.  No  one  made  himself  more  loved;  no  one  more  honored 
his  Master  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  duty. 

When  the  trustees  of  Cumberland  University 
closed  the  Theological  Department  in  1909,  Dr.  Pear- 
son was  called  to  the  faculty  of  the  newly  and  inde- 
pendently established  Presbyterian  Theological  Sem- 
inary of  the  South,  and  continued  his  relation  with  it 
during  the  one  year  of  its  separate  existence. 

Following  testimonies  of  others  as  to  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  Scriptures  and  his  skill  in  using  them,  we 
turn  to  what  Mr.  Pearson  himself  says  of  the  impor- 
tance of  Bible  study,  the  methods  he  used  in  that 
study,  and  the  results  which  he  was  sure  would  fol- 
low: 

The  Importance  of  Studying  the  Scriptures. — Matthew  22:29. 
Studying  the  Scriptures  is  important  because — 

1.  Without  it  there  can  be  no  correct  conception  of  that  most 
important  of  all  things,  salvation.     2  Timothy  3:15. 

2.  Without  it  there  can  be  no  assimilation  of  that  nutritive 
food  which  promotes  spiritual  growth.     1  Peter  2:2. 


56  LIFE  SKETCH 

3.  Without  it  there  can  be  no  appropriation  of  that  enriching 
property  which  produces  spiritual  fruit.     Psalms  1 :2-3. 

4.  Without  it  there  can  be  no  guarantee  of  success  in  warfare, 
work  or  worship.     Joshua  1:8. 

5.  Without  it  there  can  be  no  rightly  dividing  of  the  word  of 
truth  to  those  we  try  to  teach.     2  Timothy  2:15. 

6.  Without  it  there  can  be  no  rooting  and  grounding  in  the  truth 
which  forestalls /aZse  teachers  and  erroneous  doctrines.     Col.  2:6-8. 

7.  Without  it  there  can  be  no  Christlike  loyalty  to  the  Scrip- 
tures as  the  standard  of  authority.     Matthew  26:53-54. 

Methods  of  Bible  Study. 

1.  Read  the  Bible  straight  through  as  one  great  volume. 

2.  Make  outhne  of  each  book. 

3.  Make  connected  study  of  different  sections. 

4.  Master  "Mountain  Peak"  chapters. 

5.  Trace  progress  of  development  of  doctrines. 

6.  Master  key  words  and  phrases,  as  "Righteousness  of  God." 

7.  Compare  Scripture  with  Scripture. 

8.  Rely  absolutely  and  prayerfully  on  the  Holy  Spirit  to  inter- 
pret the  Scriptures  to  our  spiritual  understanding. 

''Mountain  Peak''  Chapters.— Genesis  1,  3,  12,  22;  Exodus  12, 
20;  Leviticus  16;  Numbers  14;  Deuteronomy  28;  2  Samuel  7; 
Psalms  19,  23,  46,  119;  Isaiah  11,  53,  61;  Daniel  9;  Ezekiel  28; 
Matthew  5,  6,  7;  Luke  2,  24;  John  1,  3,  13-17  inclusive;  Acts  1,  2, 
15;  Romans  8;  1  Corinthians  13, 15;  1  Thessalonians  4;  2  Thessa- 
lonians  2;  Hebrews  11;  James  2;  1  John  3;  Revelation  1,  2, 3,  19, 
20,  21. 

Going  to  Montreat,  he  fulfilled  an  engagement  made 
for  lectures  during  the  summer  conference  there.  He 
found  in  this  summer  Bible  conference,  as  he  had 
found  In  the  Bible  conferences  at  Lebanon  the  two 
preceding  summers,  a  "door  great  and  effectual" 
opened  to  him  to  teach  God's  word  to  people  who 
loved  it,  and  of  whom  it  could  be  truly  said,  ''that 


LIFE  SKETCH  57 

those  who  know  it  best  seemed  hungering  and  thirst- 
ing to  hear  it  like  the  rest,"  and  who  in  turn,  were  to 
become  teachers  of  that  word  themselves. 

Dr.  Walter  Lingle,  manager  of  the  Montreat  Plat- 
form, can  tell  bettter  than  any  other  of  Mr.  Pearson's 
work  there : 

At    Montreat. 


Dr.  Walter  Lingle. 


No  sketch  of  Dr.  Pearson's  life  would  be  complete  without  some    J^^^^^^^^^ 
reference  to  his  great  work  as  teacher  of  the  EngUsh  Bible  at 
Montreat  Conference. 

He  began  his  work  at  Montreat  in  the  summer  of  1910.  We 
had  thought  of  Dr.  Pearson  before  as  a  Bible  preaching  evange- 
hst,  with  great  spiritual  power  for  winning  souls.  We  were  now 
to  learn  him  in  another  role.  He  had  not  taught  long  until  we 
knew  that  we  were  sitting  at  the  feet  of  a  master.  The  Bible  hour 
became  the  most  popular  hour  at  Montreat.  When  the  session 
was  over,  many  requests  came  to  the  Program  Committee  urg- 
ing them  to  secure  Dr.  Pearson  for  the  next  sunmier,  if  possible. 
He  needed  no  urging,  for  he  had  caught  the  spirit  of  the  place  and 
saw  a  great  opportunity  for  service. 

In  1911  Dr.  Pearson  began  his  Bible  hour  on  the  opening  day 
of  the  conference,  and  he  began  with  Genesis.  He  moved  straight 
forward,  with  the  purpose  of  covering  in  a  systematic  way  as  much 
of  the  Bible  as  possible.  Again  large  audiences  flocked  to  hear 
him,  and  again  there  was  great  regret  when  he  had  finished  his 
engagement. 

Just  then  another  teacher  notified  us  at  the  last  moment  that 
he  would  not  keep  his  engagement.  Dr.  Pearson  stepped  into 
the  breach  at  once  and  taught  for  two  more  weeks,  to  the  de- 
Hght  of  all  who  heard  him. 

Again  requests  poured  in  upon  us  to  secure  Dr.  Pearson  for 
1912.  This  we  gladly  did,  though  it  has  been  our  rule  not  to 
put  any  one  man  on  the  program  too  often.     Dr.  Pearson  was 


58  LIFE  SKETCH 

an  exception  to  all  such  rules.  In  1912  he  began  where  he  left 
off  in  1911.  In  this  way  he  went  very  thoroughly  from  Genesis 
to  Job.  Those  who  heard  these  expositions  book  by  book  will 
never  forget  them.  His  last  week  at  Montreat  was  his  greatest 
week.  He  broke  away  from  his  regular  order  to  take  up  some 
special  subjects  on  which  he  had  been  working  for  years, 
as  rTea^chen"^  During  this  last  week  he  taught  with  unusual  power,  and  his 
audiences  were  the  largest  week-day  audiences  ever  seen  at  Mon- 
treat. His  last  lecture  was  on  August  9,  1912.  Dr.  Pearson 
knew  his  Bible  as  few  men  ever  know  it.  He  had  a  wonderful 
gift  for  selecting  the  sahent  points  in  a  book  of  the  Bible,  or  in 
a  chapter,  and  a  wonderful  gift  for  driving  them  home  to  the 
heart  after  he  had  selected  them.  There  was  always  a  dehcate 
humor  in  his  lectures.  One  could  tell  when  it  was  coming  by 
the  twinkle  in  his  eye.  He  was  never  dull,  and  yet  he  was  never 
fhppant.  He  could  fairly  flay  the  destructive  critics  and  worldly 
church  members.  For  all  such  things  he  had  a  fine  scorn,  and 
he  could  express  it  in  a  unique  and  telling  way.  We  shall  not  see 
his  like  soon  again. 

The  Program  Committee  gave  Dr.  Pearson  a  most  urgent  in- 
vitation to  take  the  Bible  hour  in  the  conference  in  the  approach- 
ing summer  of  1913,  but  he  felt  compelled  to  dechne  on  account 
of  ill  health.  His  last  letter  to  us  was  dated  January  9,  1913, 
closing  with  these  gracious  words:  "The  steadily  growing  inter- 
est in  Montreat  will  doubtless  make  it  easy  for  you  to  secure  all 
the  helpers  you  need,  both  for  the  Bible  hour  and  all  other  de- 
partments of  the  work.  We  pray  and  trust  great  grace  may  be 
with  you,  and  that  both  the  workers  and  the  work  may  be  greatly 
prospered." 

Thus  his  work  at  Montreat  was  closed.  When  the  books  are 
opened  and  all  things  are  known,  we  beheve  that  it  will  be  found 
that  his  work  at  Montreat  was  one  of  the  most  far-reaching  in- 
fluences of  his  life.  He  left  profound  impressions  upon  great, 
representative  audiences,  composed  of  men  and  women  from 
every  part  of  the  church.  Eternity  alone  will  reveal  the  extent 
of  his  influence  upon  these  men  and  women,  and  upon  the  church 
through  them. 


LIFE  SKETCH  59 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  second  summer's  engage- 
ment at  Montreat,  Dr.  Whaling,  president  of  Colum- 
bia Theological  Seminary,  came  to  that  assembly  m 
search  of  a  teacher  of  English  Bible  in  the  seminary. 
He  writes: 

"When  it  became  necessary  to  fill  the  chair  of  EngHsh  Bible,    to'columbfa. 
pastoral  theology  and  sacred  rhetoric  at  the  Columbia  Theolog- 
ical Seminary,  my  attention  was  soon  directed  to  Rev.  Dr.  R. 
G  Pearson.     He  had  conducted  a  meeting  in  the  church  of  which 
I  was  pastor  at  Lexington,  Va.,  and  I  weU  remembered  his  pow- 
erful bibhcal  sermons  as  fine  specunens  of  expository  discourses 
as  I  have  ever  heard.     In  addition,  his  work  at  Lebanon  had  be- 
come well  known  all  through  the  South  because  of  the  masterly 
way  in  which  he  taught  his  classes  the  essential  contents  of  the 
English  Scriptures.     Moreover,  his  series  of  lectures  at  Mon- 
treat had  commanded  wider  attention  and  attracted  larger  audi- 
ences than  anything  of  the  kind  had  ever  drawn  at  that  famous 
assembly.     So  it  was  not  at  aU  wonderful  that  from  many  differ- 
ent sources  the  suggestion  came  that  he  was  eminently  fitted  to 
fill  this  important  chair  in  one  of  our  chief  theological  institu- 
tions.    Though  brought  up  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Church  and  connected  with  it  for  many  years,  he  belonged  to  the 
sound  and  conservative  wing  of  that  body,  was  a  bibhcal  and 
consistent  Calvinist,  and  had  no  difficulty  in  making  the  trans- 
fer to  the  Southern  Assembly.     The  board  of  directors  of  the 
seminary,  without  a  single  dissenting  voice,  and  with  singular 
unanimity  and  enthusiasm,  elected  him  as  one  of  its  professors, 
and  in  addition  he  was  asked  to  discharge  the  function  of  director 
of  religious  work,  for  which  his  past  experience  eminently  pre- 
pared him.     His  election  was  most  warmly  received  by  the  fac- 
ulty, alumni  and  students,  and  was  indorsed  far  and  wide  by  the 
constituency  of  the  seminary.     When  the  announcement  was 
made  at  Montreat,  the  enthusiasm  of  hundreds  who  had  been 
attending  his  lectures  was  unbounded,  and  by  a  rising  vote  of 
the  vast  audience  in  the  great  auditorium  he  was  commended  as 
a  great  master  and  divinely  equipped  teacher  of  the  Enghsh 
Scriptures. 


60 


LIFE  SKETCH 


Work  at 
Columbia. 


Bible  Class 


"His  success  in  his  chair  at  the  Columbia  Seminary  was  at 
once  assuT-ed.  His  students  without  exception  recognized  his 
imusual  fitness  and  gifts  fo^  his  difficult  professorship.  His 
brethren  in  the  faculty  found  him  in  every  way  worthy  of  his 
position — frank,  affectionate,  considerate,  loyal  to  principle,  em- 
inently spiritual  and  intensely  bibhcal,  he  found  his  place  in  their 
affection  and  confidence  as  a  true  and  beloved  man  of  God.  The 
community  and  the  church  speedily  responded  to  his  presence. 
He  taught  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at  10  o'clock  Sunday 
morning  the  largest  adult  Bible  class  in  our  entire  communion, 
and  held  the  undivided  attention  of  that  class  from  Sabbath  to 
Sabbath  with  his  unrivaled  bibhcal  expositions.  The  entire  city 
felt  his  influence,  and  he  was  sought  by  all  denominations  for 
every  kind  of  ministerial  service.  The  members  of  the  synod 
controlling  the  seminary  were  aroused  by  his  work  to  fresh  en- 
thusiasm for  their  institution.  He  gave  a  spiritual,  bibhcal  and 
evangelistic  compiexion  to  the  English  Bible  chair  which  it  must 
continue  to  wear  for  ail  the  future. 

"His  two  brief  years  of  service  we^e  all  too  short,  but  they  were 
long  enough  to  leave  an  indelible  impress  on  the  Theological  Sem- 
inary which  he  came  to  love  so  much,  and  which  so  deeply  appre- 
ciates the  value  of  his  services.  When  the  earthly  end  came  and 
sorrowing  students  and  bereaved  faculty  and  a  sympathetic  com- 
munity gathered  in  a  vast  concourse  at  the  funeral  service  on 
Sabbath  morning  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  there  was 
no  one  of  our  generation  to  whom  Paul's  triumphant  words  might 
be  more  appropriately  appHed:  'For  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered, 
and  the  time  for  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight;  I  have  finished  my  course;  I  have  kept  the  faith.  Hence- 
forth there  is  laid  up  for  me  the  crown  of  righteousness,  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  will  give  me  at  that  day;  and  not 
to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love  his  appearing.'  2  Tim- 
othy 6:8." 

The  president  and  secretary  of  the  Bible  class  tell 
of  methods  of  teaching: 

*Tn  October,  1911,  Dr.  R.  G.  Pearson,  professor  of  English 
Bible  in  Columbia  Theological  Seminary,  was  invited  by  the  ses- 


LIFE  SKETCH  61 

sion  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  to  organize  and  teach  a 
Bible  class  for  the  men  and  women  of  the  congregation.  We  had 
never  had  a  live  and  successful  Bible  class  for  adults,  and  the 
small  one  meeting  in  connection  with  the  Sabbath  school  had 
languished  for  many  years,  with  frequent  change  of  teachers. 

"Dr.  Pearson  imdertook  the  work  with  his  accustomed  skill, 
energy  and  enthusiasm.  The  result  has  been  one  of  the  most 
notable  Bible  study  classes  in  the  country.  It  has  met  in  the 
auditorium  of  the  church  at  10  o'clock  every  Sabbath  morning 
with  an  average  attendance  of  more  than  a  himdred.  Among 
the  members  are  professors  and  students  at  the  university,  wo- 
men's college,  and  many  Christian  workers  from  our  own  and 
other  churches,  and  business  as  well  as  professional  men  from 

the  city. 

"From  the  first  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  of  the  members 
has  been  marked,  and  the  mfluence  of  the  class  upon  the  city  has 
been  noteworthy.  It  has,  in  fact,  been  by  far  the  most  stimu- 
lating, profitable  and  successful  Bible  class  I  have  ever  known. 
Dr.  Pearson,  in  the  handling  of  the  class  and  in  the  teaching  of 
his  subjects,  has  shown  himself  a  singularly  skilKul  leader  and 
profound  bibUcal  scholar. 

"His  remarkable  success  is  due,  in  great  measure,  I  beUeve,  to    g^^cess 

"1.  His  analytical  method  of  treating  his  subject  (using  a    Explained, 
blackboard,  with  topical  outHnes,  subdivisions,  key  words,  charts, 
etc.). 

"2.  His  constant  harmonizing  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments. 

"3.  His  strikingly  original  appHcations,  now  humorous,  now 
eloquent,  of  the  great  Bible  truths  to  the  practical  questions  of 
the  day. 

"4.  His  power  of  stimulating  a  fresh  interest  in  first-hand, 

personal  Bible  study. 

"5.  Above  all,  the  evangehcal  and  devotional  spirit  which  en- 
ergizes his  teaching  to  a  remarkable  degree. 

"Dr.  Pearson  is  endowed  with  rare  and  brilHant  gifts  as  a 
teacher,  is  a  man  of  wide  intellectual  range,  of  warm  human  sym- 
pathies and  of  long  and  varied  experience.  He  is  fearlessly  out- 
spoken and  has  a  noble  courage  of  his  convictions.     He  avails 


62  LIFE  SKETCH 

himself  of  the  most  modern  methods  of  teaching,  such  as  we  are 
accustomed  to  hear  in  the  universities,  in  the  treatment  of  ht- 
erary  and  historical  subjects." 

The  president  of  the  Bible  class  tells  of  the  last 
month's  work: 

His  Last  "The  average  attendance  of  the  class  was  remarkably  steady 

and  uniform,  and  the  interest  intense  and  constant.  His  com- 
mentary on  the  Bible  was  the  Bible.  He  interpreted  Scripture 
with  Scripture.  Every  passage  of  the  Old  Testament  foreshad- 
owed the  New,  and  the  New  Testament  interpreted  and  ex- 
plained the  Old. 

"As  from  Sunday  to  Sunday,  in  the  last  year  of  his  teaching, 
his  physical  powers  perceptibly  weakened,  his  zeal,  devotion  and 
inspiration  just  as  perceptibly  increased.  As  his  pathway  drew 
nearer  to  the  brink  of  the  river,  he  seemed  to  hve  more  absolutely 
in  the  divine  life,  and  he  reflected  this  life  upon  those  around  him. 
His  messages  became  stronger  and  clearer,  if  possible,  and  his 
hearers  more  attentive  and  devoted.  When  his  health  prevented 
his  attendance,  the  class  was  dazed,  Uke  sheep  without  a  shep- 
herd, and  dechned  to  hear  the  voice  of  a  stranger.  The  privi- 
leges which  this  class  enjoyed  will  not  come  again  to  this  gener- 
ation, and  the  debt  we  owe  to  him  can  never  be  measured  in 
time." 

Home  Going.  During  the  last  season  at  Montreat  he  seemed  as 
strong  as  usual,  and  in  the  early  fall,  after  his  return 
to  Columbia,  continued  feeling  unusually  well.  This 
led  him  to  undertake  a  large  amount  of  work.  Early 
in  December  he  began  to  show  signs  of  failing  strength, 
manifesting  weariness  when  returning  from  classes, 
which  he  had  never  done  before.  In  this  run-down 
condition  he  contracted  grippe,  from  which  he  was 
confined  to  bed  for  ten  days.  Somewhat  improved 
by  the  rest,  he  got  up,  and,  with  his  accustomed  tenac- 
ity, resumed  work  in  the  Bible  class  and  the  seminary. 


LIFE  SKETCH  63 

Growing  steadily  weaker,  he  gave  up  first  the  Bible 
class,  and  tried  to  continue  his  work  in  the  seminary. 
His  wife,  seeing  the  severe  tax  upon  his  strength,  in- 
sisted that  he  lay  down  his  work  and  go  to  bed.     This 
he  did,  and,  calling  in  a  physician,  he  was  told  how 
imperative  it  was  for  him  to  have  absolute  quiet  and 
rest      How  sweet  that  rest  seemed  to  him  when  he 
finally  made  up  his  mind  to  take  it.     The  overtaxed 
heart  had  grown  so  tired.     The  physician  said  that 
he  must  remain  in  bed  at  least  a  month  and  then  go 
to  the  rolling  chair,  before  he  would  be  strong  enough 
to  walk,  much  less  teach.     From  that  day  he  himself 
seemed  to  realize  the  possible  outcome,  and  as  calmly 
as  if  arranging  for  some  earthly  journey,  he  gave  in- 
structions to  his  wife  about  all  important  matters  con- 
cerning both  his  work  and  her  interests.     Together 
they  faced  the  possibility  of  recovery  or  of  departure 
to  be  with  the  Lord,  and,  realizing  that  the  hand  that 
had  guided  them  through  the  years  held  them  still, 
they  bowed  their  hearts  in  humble  trust  to  the  will  of 
a  loving  Father,  and  had  rest  from  anxious  fears  and 
glad  hope,  whether  in  life  or  death. 

None  outside  the  physician  and  themselves  real- 
ized the  seriousness  of  the  condition,  and  yet  both  had 
reason  to  believe  that  there  was  strong  probability  of 
recovery.  He  was  confined  to  bed  this  time  just 
twelve  days,  and  he  was  cheerful  and  happy  through 
every  one  of  those  twelve  days.  In  a  bright  room, 
made  cheerful  with  the  warmth  of  the  eastern  sun, 
fresh  flowers  sent  daily  by  loving  friends,  every  care 
and  comfort  that  medical  skill  and  loving  hands  could 
render,   and   practically   free   from   suffering   except 


64 


LIFE  SKETCH 


The 

"Abundant 

Entrance." 


Funeral 
Services. 


about  two  days,  the  last  days  were  full  of  peace  and 
hope  and  joy  to  all.  On  the  last  day  (we  little  thought 
it  the  last),  he  said  to  his  wife,  as  she  sat  beside  him: 
"I  thank  God  for  this  sickness,  let  it  issue  as  it  may." 
That  night,  after  everything  had  been  done  as  usual 
for  his  Gomfort,  he  wound  his  watch  and  went  to  sleep 
as  sweetly  as  a  little  child.  At  2  o'clock,  going  to  him 
to  see  if  anything  could  be  done,  and  ministering  to 
his  simple  wants,  he  said  he  had  rested  comfortably 
through  the  night,  and  then  added:  '*Go  back  to  your 
couch  and  sleep;  it  is  not  necessary  for  you  to  stay 
awake."  Again  he  seemed  to  have  fallen  asleep. 
Going  to  him  after  a  time,  he  was  lying  on  his  right 
side,  with  arms  folded,  eyes  closed,  as  if  in  normal 
sleep,  but  the  spirit  had  flown.  He  had  gone  to  sleep 
on  earth  to  awake  in  heaven.  The  funeral  service 
was  held  Sunday  morning  at  the  regular  church  hour 
for  service.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Rea- 
vis,  pastor,  from  the  text,  *'I  have  fought  a  good 
fight;  I  have  kept  the  faith;  I  have  finished  my 
course."  The  students  of  the  seminary  were  the 
active  pall-bearers,  the  seminary  faculty  and  session 
of  the  First  Church  the  honorary.  At  his  own  re- 
quest, we  took  him  back  to  his  old  home  town,  Stark- 
vilie.  Miss.  There  another  service  was  held  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Starkviile.  The  pall-bear- 
ers were  his  friends,  some  of  his  earlier  and  some  of 
his  later  years.  The  service  was  one  that  will  not 
soon  be  forgotten  by  those  present.  Kindred  and 
friends  of  former  years  assembled  in  the  church;  all 
the  pastors  of  different  denominations  were  in  the 
pulpit,  taking  part,  just  as  they  had  done  in  evange- 


LIFE  SKETCH  65 

listic  meetings  with  him  in  the  past;  songs  familiar  to 
the  audience  were  sung — songs  that  they  had  sung  in 
revival  meetings  with  him,  when  penitents  were 
called  to  make  a  confession  of  their  Saviour.  Earnest 
prayer  had  been  made  before  that  God  would  make 
this  a  blessing  to  his  friends  and  loved  ones,  asking 
especially  that  some  unsaved  might  be  brought  to 
Christ;  that  the  ministers  might  be  encouraged  and 
strengthened  for  their  work  by  the  recognition  of 
God's  gracious  dealing  with  His  servant,  and  that 
some  young  man  might  be  called  from  that  congrega- 
tion to  preach  the  glorious  gospel,  and  that  all  the 
Christians  there  might  get  a  new  vision  of  the  love  of 
God,  and  through  that  vision  be  led  into  lives  of  closer 
fellowship  with  Him.  Thus  praying,  and  in  expect- 
ant faith  receiving,  there  was  a  manifest  unction  and 
power  from  the  first  words  of  the  Scripture  lesson 
through  all  the  prayers  and  songs  and  sermon  to  the 
last  prayer  that  was  offered  at  the  grave. 

Dr.  Raymond,  the  pastor  of  the  church  for  many 
years,  now  pastor  emeritus,  read  the  Scripture,  a  por- 
tion of  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians,  and 
as  he  read  a  calm  fell  upon  all,  while  the  reality  and 
the  preciousness  of  these  wonderful  words  seemed  to 
take  hold  on  the  congregation.  Slowly,  clearly,  with- 
out comment,  he  read  on  and  on,  and  each  sentence 
seemed  in  its  glorious  adaptation  as  if  written  for  that 
time.  The  prayers,  coming  as  they  evidently  did 
from  the  hearts  of  those  who  uttered  them,  found  re- 
sponse in  the  hearts  of  those  who  heard.  The  songs 
sung  with  the  spirit  and  understanding,  seemed  to 
glow  with  new  meaning  for  all  the  congregation,  who 


66  LIFE  SKETCH 

joined  in  as  if  in  a  gospel  service.  And  then  the  ser- 
mon, setting  forth  the  thought  of  the  text,  'They  glo- 
rified God  in  me,"  impressing  the  marvelous  yet  cer- 
tain fact  of  God,  the  great  and  mighty  God,  was  guid- 
ing, empowering,  controlling,  using  the  human  life — 
a  life  with  the  w^eaknesses  and  sins  common  to  human- 
ity, yet  blessing  that  life  and  making  it  a  blessing.  The 
blessed  truth  that  God  would  have  very  one  of  those 
present  thus  to  live  with  and  for  Him  found  a  loving 
response  in  many  a  heart  that  day,  so  that  the  result 
of  the  preacher's  words  was  to  quicken  into  new  faith 
hearts  that  had  felt  the  chill  of  the  world,  to  make 
real  the  word  of  God  to  the  people,  to  convince  of  sin 
the  sinner,  and  to  lift  into  closer  fellowship  with  Him- 
self some  who  had  been  drifting.  Expressions  ear- 
nestly spoken  by  many  showed  this  to  be  a  gracious 
answer  to  believing  prayer,  prayer  which  we  believe 
God  Himself  had  taught  us  to  offer. 
^Re'stfrom  Following  from  the  church  to   the  cemetery,  not 

far  distant,  a  company  of  friends  gathered  around  the 
family  square,  where  we  laid  him  to  rest  in  the  old 
home  cemetery,  beside  his  father  and  mother.  Every- 
where the  beauty  of  the  springtime  was  seen — God's 
pledge  and  promise  of  that  resurrection  morning, 
when  ''this  mortal  shall  put  on  immortality,  when 
that  which  is  sown  in  weakness  shall  be  raised  in 
glory,  and  the  terrestrial  shall  become  the  celestial." 
How  these  words,  long  familiar,  seemed  to  burn  and 
glow  as  they  were  brought  by  the  Spirit  in  the  power 
and  preciousness  of  their  meaning  to  the  sorrowing, 
yet  rejoicing,  bereaved  but  believing  hearts. 

And  other  tender  words  of  our  Saviour  hushed  the 


Labors." 


LIFE  SKETCH  67 

sob  of  the  heart,  while  the  eye  of  faith  looked  not 
upon  the  little  company  gathered  around  the  open 
grave,  but  to  the  Father's  throne,  where  welcoming 
loved  ones  gone  before,  and  redeemed  ones  saved 
through  his  instiumentality,  were  there  to  greet  him 
and  to  welcome  him  into  the  presence  of  the  Redeemer 
himself.  By  grace  we  are  enabled  to  look  back  with 
thanksgiving  over  the  blessed  years  of  a  finished  jour- 
ney, and  forward  to  the  eternity  of  unbroken  compan- 
ionship in  our  Father's  house.  ''The  highest  honor 
in  life,  its  crowning  glory  and  its  chief  joy  is  to  have 
worked  with  God." 


Sermon  Delivered  in  Starksville,  Miss.,  March  19,  at  tele 

Funeral  of  Rev.  Dr.  R,  G.  Pearson,  Professor  in 

Columbia  Theological  Seminary. 


By  Rei.  Thornton  Whaling,  D.  D. 


Gal.  1:24:  "They  glorified  God  in  me." 

Subject:  "God  in  a  Good  Man." 

It  is  fitting  that  the  body  of  our  beloved  brother  should  rest 
in  the  hope  of  the  resurrection  of  the  just  in  the  quiet  God's  acre 
of  your  town.  He  was  born  here.  He  grew  into  manhood  amidst 
its  familiar  scenes;  the  ashes  of  his  father  and  mother  and  many 
other  kindred  are  mingled  with  your  soil;  he  loved  his  dear  old 
town  and  was  never  tired  of  speaking  of  its  charms,  and  he  de- 
hghted  to  revisit  his  boyhood's  home  and  to  strike  hands  with 
those  whom  he  had  known  and  loved  in  the  long  ago.  And 
hither,  after  more  than  three-score  years  of  earthly  pilgrimage, 
we  bnng,  according  to  his  own  request,  all  that  is  mortal  of  Rob- 
ert G.  Pearson,  that  his  sleeping  dust  may  here  await  the  glories 
of  the  resurrection  morning. 


68  LIFE  SKETCH 

And  it  is  equally  fitting  that  those  of  his  own  blood  and  kin- 
ship and  others  who  have  the  privilege  and  insight  which  comes 
from  intimate  and  early  association  with  him  should  assemble 
in  this  house  of  God  this  morning  to  magnify  the  grace  of  God  so 
conspicuously  manifest  in  him.  The  completest  exhibition  of 
His  character  which  God  makes  to-day  is  made  through  some 
selected  man  whom  God  chooses  and  in  whom  He  dwells  with 
renewing  and  transforming  power.  Dr.  Pearson  was  a  remark- 
able man,  who  would  have  made  his  impress  anywhere  and  at 
any  time  in  any  sphere  where  his  activities  were  exerted.  But 
I  wish  to  speak  solely  of  God  manifested  and  glorified  in  him. 

I.  God  made  a  real  man  when  He  created  him.  A  vigorous 
intellect,  an  active  imagination,  strong  humor  easily  developing 
into  pungent  wit  or  swift  repartee;  keen  powers  of  observation, 
always  at  work  laying  up  treasures  of  information  in  the  store- 
house of  a  retentive  memory — all  these  mental  powers  marked 
him  out  as  divinely  destined  for  unusual  influence.  Combined 
with  them  was  a  moral  nature  of  unmistakable  strength,  where 
an  unmuzzled  and  unfettered  conscience  had  the  full  right  of  way, 
and  added  to  both  mental  and  moral  traits  was  an  affectional 
nature  of  great  depth  and  intensity.  He  loved  wife  and  kindred 
and  friends  with  a  love  which  had  no  measure  except  the  capacity 
of  a  great  heart.  Above  all  his  other  natural  gifts  was  a  will 
which  was  not  made  to  be  handled  easily  by  every  one  who  dared 
lay  his  hands  upon  it,  but  strong,  steady  and  fixed,  that  will  kept 
on  the  undisturbed  road  which  itself  had  chosen.  There  was  in 
him  by  creation  a  combination  of  gifts  and  qualities,  mental, 
moral,  affectional  and  volitional,  which  made  mediocrity  impos- 
sible and  rendered  it  necessary  that  men  should  take  knowledge 
of  the  fact  that  he  was  ahve  and  at  work  in  the  world.  I  cannot 
conceive  of  him  as  "lame  or  impotent"  or  ineffective  in  any  sphe^ 
in  which  he  labored,  in  any  service  in  which  he  engaged  to  render. 

But  it  is  not  chiefly  of  God  as  manifest  in  his  natural  gifts  I 
wish  to  speak,  and  so  I  remark  next,  that : 

II.  God  made  him  a  representative  and  consecrated  Christian 
by  the  influence  of  His  grace  within  him. 

He  was  a  Christian  all  his  life.  He  never  remembered  the 
time  when  he  did  not  love  Jesus,  hence  he  did  not  have  to  use 


LIFE  SKETCH  69 

half  of  his  hfe  fighting  the  other  half,  and  hence  also  the  matur- 
ity and  range  of  his  Christian  fruitfulness  and  grace.  First  and 
foremost  amongst  the  fruits  of  the  spirit  which  adorned  his  life 
was  the  primary  and  fontal  grace  of  faith.  He  was  above  all 
things  else  a  man  of  faith.  He  Hved  with  God.  He  hved  for 
God.  He  lived  by  God's  power  and  grace.  He  had  been  weaned 
from  self-dependence  by  divine  lessons,  which  had  burnt  into  his 
very  soul  the  great  truths  that  none  but  God  is  really  needed, 
and  that  all  spiritual  results  are  secured,  "not  by  might  nor  by 
an  army,  but  by  My  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  His  faith  blos- 
somed into  a  faithfulness  which  made  his  Christian  service  in  any 
sphere  memorable  and  influential.  He  could  not  be  sHpshod 
or  negligent,  because  he  was  serving  the  great  God,  in  whom  he 
believed  with  every  atom  of  his  being,  with  the  full  assent  of 
every  power  of  his  nature.  His  faith  developed  into  a  courage 
which  makes  it  possible  to  say  of  him,  as  was  said  at  the  funeral 
of  John  Knox:  "There  lies  one  who  never  feared  the  face  of  man." 
He  feared  God  too  much  to  fear  anybody  or  anything  else.  The 
fear  of  God  delivered  him  from  the  tyranny  of  all  slavish  and 
unworthy  fears.  No  braver  man  than  he  has  preached  the  gos- 
pel and  the  law  of  God  in  our  day  and  generation.  But  the  com- 
panion and  mate  of  his  faith  was  his  love — his  Christian  love, 
the  product  of  Christ's  Spirit,  working  in  him  the  strong  sense  of 
brotherhood  and  of  the  unity  of  behevers  in  Christ  Jesus.  His 
heart  had  in  it  something  of  the  breadth  of  the  gospel  upon  which 
he  lived ;  had  in  it  some  suggestion  of  the  infinite,  saviourly  heart 
into  which  he  had  fled  for  refuge  as  a  lost  sinner.  And  yet  his 
love  had  in  it  no  element  of  weakness  or  sentimentaHsm.  He 
hated  meanness  with  a  perfect  hatred,  and  when  the  occasion 
called  for  it,  no  man  could  denounce  evil  in  more  caustic  and  bhs- 
tering  terms.  God's  wrath  at  sin  had  its  transcript  and  echo  in 
his  abhorrence  of  that  evil  which  antagonizes  and  defames  God, 
which  rejects  and  outrages  His  grace,  and  which  disfigures  and 
despoils  God's  fair  creation.  The  weak  character  which  does  not 
despise  iniquity  cannot  be  possessed  by  a  great  and  fervid  love  of 
righteousness.  His  love  bore  the  additional  fruit  of  a  genial  and 
tender  sympathy  with  men  in  their  suffe^'ings  and  struggles  with 
sin.     No  heart  ever  opened  more  readily  to  let  in  the  knocker 


70  LIFE  SKETCH 

who  came  applying  for  help  or  counsel  or  the  balm  of  an  unques- 
tioning brotherliness.  It  was  good  to  sit  with  him  in  the  simple 
exchanges  of  fellowship  or  of  a  wise  and  comprehending  brother- 
hood. And  to  friends  and  brethren  whom  custom  and  trial  had 
proven  true  there  was  a  warmth  Uke  that  of  the  tropics  in  the 
affection  which  he  lavished  upon  them.  His  love  became  sym- 
pathy and  his  love  became  helpfulness,  too,  whenever  need  arose, 
for  the  practical  dominated  him,  and  to  give  benedictions  alone, 
where  dollars  or  clothes  or  medicine  were  needed,  was  not  his 
method  of  interpreting  the  gospel  or  the  heart  of  God.  His  faith 
and  love  were  not  alone,  but  were  united  with  a  hope  which  had 
its  base  set  deep  in  liis  faith  in  God  and  his  abounding  conviction 
that  the  Infinite  Triune  God  was  able  successfully  to  handle  all 
the  problems  which  sin  and  salvation,  which  providence  and 
grace,  impose  upon  Him.  The  final  triumph  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  was  not  to  him  an  open  question.  The  power  of  the  pure 
word  of  God  was  not  debatable.  The  efficacy  of  the  Holy  Spir- 
it's operation  was  not  to  him  doubtful  or  disputed.  Hence  a 
triumphant  hope  marked  his  attitude  toward  God's  world  and 
God's  kingdom  and  toward  the  eternal  future  and  home  of  God's 
children  in  the  great  beyond.  All  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  were 
found  in  beautiful  combination  in  him,  viz:  love,  joy,  peace,  long- 
suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance. 

I  have  not  overdrawn  the  picture  of  the  splendid  Christian 
maturity  of  this  real  and  devoted  saint  of  God,  but  I  have  drawn 
him  as  I  knew  him  best,  near  the  crown  of  his  long  and  arduous 
life  of  growth  and  gradual  attainment.  Years  and  years  ago, 
in  a  period  of  temporary  discouragement,  he  had  found  the  secret 
of  Jehovah,  he  had  discovered  that  God  was  sufficient,  that  no 
one  else  really  counted,  and  he  had  entered  into  covenant  with 
God,  writing  it  down  in  black  and  white  in  the  back  of  his  Bible, 
where  his  own  eye  would  often  see  it  and  where  he  could  not  for- 
get it,  and  solemnly  consecrating  himself,  body,  soul  and  spirit, 
to  the  service  of  God,  engaging  to  belong  altogether  and  wholly 
and  forever  to  the  Lord.  And  his  beloved  wife,  who  was  his 
true  companion  and  helpmeet,  his  divinely  given  helper  for  so 
many  years,  signed  it  with  him,  and  a  period  of  spiritual  power 
came  to  him,  and  larger  consecration  descended  upon  him,  and 


LIFE  SKETCH  71 

he  became  the  Christian  and  the  saint  we  all  knew  him  to  be,  and 
what  more  can  I  say  than  to  call  upon  you  to  glorify  God  in  liim, 
to  magnify  the  grace  which  wrought  such  triumphs  in  him, 
and  to  hear  the  call  which  summons  you  to  a  like  consecration, 
in  order  to  your  growth  into  similar  Christian  maturity  and 

power. 

When  ill  health  forbade  his  continued  public  ministry,  he  car- 
ried the  same  evangelistic  spirit  into  his  teaching  work,  and  in 
two  of  our  theological  seminaries  he  served,  if  I  may  coin  the 
phrase,  as  Bible  and  teacher  evangehst.  I  take  pleasure  in  tes- 
tifying here  to-day  to  the  splendid  service  he  has  rendered  in  the 
all  too  brief  two  years  in  the  Columbia  Theological  Seminary, 
teaching  the  Enghsh  Bible  and  evangehsm  to  our  students,  show- 
ing our  young  men  that  the  Bible  is  evangehstic  through  and 
through,  and  that  only  the  evangehstic  spirit  uses  it  as  it  ought 
to  be  used.  It  may  well  be  when  the  final  assize  determines  the 
value  of  all  our  service,  that  those  last  two  years  shall  be  found 
the  most  useful  of  aU  his  eminently  useful  Hfe,  giving  an  impress 
to  numbers  of  young  ministers  which  shall  color  all  their  future 
mmistry,  and  giving  a  bent  to  one  of  our  great  theological  semi- 
naries which  will  make  it  at  once  more  bibhcal  and  evangehstic 
than  it  has  ever  been. 

For  all  of  us  the  lesson  of  such  a  hfe  is  plain.  We  may  all  say, 
I  envy  him  the  completeness  of  his  consecration,  the  fullness  of 
his  surrender  to  his  God,  and,  moved  by  his  example  and  aided 
by  the  grace  of  God,  I  will  enter  into  covenant  with  my  Lord, 
that  He  shall  have  His  rights  in  me,  and  that  I  shall,  body  and 
soul  and  spirit,  be  only  and  altogether  for  Bim.— Presbyterian 
Standard. 


SOWING  AND  REAPING. 

Be  not  deceived;  God  is  not  mocked:  for  ivhoAsoever  a  man  soweth, 
that  shall  he  also  reap. 

Deception  is  a  very  common  sin  and  many 
people  practice  it.  Children  deceive  their 
parents;  men  deceive  their  wives,  and  neigh- 
bors their  neighbors.  But  let  it  be  to  you  all 
an  assurance  most  solemn  that  you  cannot 
deceive  God  about  anything,  and  especially  is 
it  true  that  you  cannot  deceive  God  about  this 
great  question  of  sowing  and  reaping. 

Life  is  solemn  from  any  viewpoint  whatso- 
ever, but  there  is  none  from  which  it  is  more 
solemn  than  that  of  sowing  and  reaping.  We 
are  all  sowing  and  w^e  are  all  going  to  reap,  and 
I  want  this  audience  for  a  little  while  tonight 
to  look  this  question  square  in  the  face: 
''Whatsoever  a  man  sows,  that  shall  he  also 
reap."  May  God's  Holy  Spirit  help  me  to 
speak  by  the  authority  of  God,  and  help  you 
to  hear  as  for  the  judgment  day. 

Now  on  this  question  of  sow^ing  and  reaping 
there  are  just  three  propositions  growing  nat- 
urally and  logically  out  of  the  text.  The  first 
proposition  is  this:     The  reaping  is  as  certain 


74  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

as  the  sowing.  The  text  says:  ''Be  not 
deceived;  God  is  not  mocked;  for  whatsoever 
a  man  sow^eth,  that  shall  he  also  reap."  There 
is  the  idea  of  certainty. 

The  second  proposition  is  that  the  reaping 
is  of  the  quality  of  the  sowing.  Hear  what  the 
text  says:  ''Be  not  deceived;  God  is  not 
mocked;  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that 
shall  he  also  reap."  There  is  the  idea  of 
quality. 

Third,  the  reaping  is  in  excess  of  the  sowing. 
Hear  again  w^hat  the  text  says:  "Be  not 
deceived;  God  is  not  m.ocked;  for  whatsoever 
a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap.'''  We 
all  know  by  common  observation  that  in 
material  things  the  reaping  is  in  excess  of  the 
sowing.  Just  so  in  moral  things  the  harvest 
will  exceed  the  sow^ing. 

Now,  let  us  take  up  these  three  propositions 
one  at  a  time  and  look  at  them  not  in  the  light 
of  speculation  and  theory,  but  in  the  light  of 
God's  word  and  of  common  sense  and  eternity. 

First,  then,  the  reaping  is  as  certain  as  the 
sowing.  Did  you  notice  that  word  "shall"? 
"For  whatsoever  a  man  sows,  that  shall  he  also 
reap."  He  may  not  want  to  reap  it;  he  may 
not  be  ready  to  reap  it;  he  may  not  be  pre- 


SOWING  AND  REAPING  75 

pared  to  reap  it;  it  may  be  death,  remorse  and 
hell  to  reap  it;  but  that  is  neither  here  nor 
there.  The  edict  of  Almighty  God  is  he  shall 
do  it.  It  is  one  of  God's  omnipotent  decrees 
and  all  the  powers  in  heaven  and  hell  and 
earth  cannot  prevent  it  from  being  carried 
out.  Dear  dying  man,  let  it  sink  into  the 
depths  of  your  soul,  what  you  sow,  you  shall 
reap. 

But  I  hold  that  this  proposition  is  true  in 
several  particulars.  First,  it  is  true  regardless 
of  the  person  of  the  sower.  That  is,  it  matters 
not  who  you  are,  what  you  believe  or  what 
you  do  not  believe;  in  the  church  or  out  of  the 
church  is  neither  here  nor  there.  So  certain 
as  you  sow,  so  certain  you  shall  reap.  Hear 
what  God  says  in  Acts  10:34.  We  have  these 
words  from  Peter  by  the  Holy  Ghost:  'T 
perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons." 
We  all  stand  upon  a  common  level  in  the 
sight  of  Almighty  God.  In  God's  government 
there  is  no  ex  parte  legislation;  we  are  all  His 
creatures;  we  are  all  amenable  to  the  moral 
law.  *'He  that  believes  and  is  baptized  shall 
be  saved.  He  that  believeth  not  shall  be 
damned."     There  is  no  exception. 

Now,  as  these  lawyers  would  say,  let  us  go 


76  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

to  God's  word  and  see  if  we  can  find  a  pre- 
cedent to  illustrate  and  enforce  the  principle 
here  laid  down.  I  will  take  two  or  three 
texts,  fair  and  representative  ones.  We  will 
begin  with  the  first  man,  the  representative 
man,  the  head  of  our  race.  We  see  Adam  in 
the  garden  commit  a  sin ;  in  other  words,  sow 
some  seed.  Did  God  say  to  him  after  it  was 
done,  ''Adam,  inasmuch  as  you  are  the  first 
man,  and  this  is  your  first  sin,  I  will  make  an 
exception  in  your  case  and  will  not  require 
you  to  reap  what  you  have  sown?"  Nay, 
verily.  God  required  that  Adam  should  reap 
what  Adam  had  sown,  and  I  submit  that  God 
will  make  no  exception  in  the  case  of  you  and 
me,  His  less  illustrious  sons  and  daughters. 

Let  us  take  another  case,  the  case  of  that 
remarkable  man  Moses.  We  see  him  at 
Kadesh.  When  God  told  him  to  speak  to  the 
rock  he  smote  it;  not  only  once  but  twice, 
and  gave  not  God  the  glory.  Did  God  say  to 
him,  ''Well,  Moses,  inasmuch  as  you  are  a 
great  law-giver,  the  great  type  of  my  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  I  will  make  an  exception  in  your 
case?"  Nay,  verily.  Moses  also  reaped  as 
he  had  sown. 


SOWING  AND  REAPING  77 

Another  remarkable  case  I  will  cite.  That 
of  David,  who  committed  murder  and  adul- 
tery. David,  though  the  royal  blood  was  in 
his  veins;  though  he  was  a  type  of  Christ, 
especially  as  the  king,  God  required  of  him 
that  he  should  reap  what  he  had  sown. 

Now,  my  brethren,  if  a  principle  laid  down 
in  God's  word,  and  precedent  to  confirm  that 
principle,  can  settle  anything,  the  question 
is  settled  that  we  reap  regardless  of  our  person- 
ality. Will  you  hear  that,  you  godless  liber- 
tine? Will  you  hear  it,  you  scoffers,  who 
reject  God's  holy  word?  Will  you  hear  it, 
you  men  who  reject  the  Son  of  God  and 
trample  his  blood  under  your  feet?  Will  you 
hear  it,  you  who  profane  God's  holy  day,  and 
constantly  grieve  his  Holy  Spirit?  Will  you 
hear  it,  you  cold  rationalists?  Let  the  profane 
swearer,  the  drunkard,  the  gambler,  the  devo- 
tee of  fashion,  and  all  sinners  hear  it.  It 
matters  not  who  you  are,  what  you  are,  what 
you  believe,  what  you  like  and  what  you  do 
not  like,  so  certain  as  God  lives,  and  so  certain 
as  you  sow,  so  certain  will  also  your  reaping 
be. 

Again,  I  hold  in  the  second  place  that  this 
proposition  is  true,  regardless  of  the  knowledge 


78  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

of  the  sower.  That  means  that  whatsoever 
a  man  sows,  that  shall  he  also  reap,  whether 
he  knows  what  he  is  doing  or  not ;  whether  he 
knows  anything  about  the  consequences  or 
not.  In  Acts  3:17,  Peter  speaking  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  the^^ews  about  the  crucifixion 
of  Christ,  uses  these  words:  ''And  now,  breth- 
ren, I  wot  that  through] ignorance  ye  did  it, 
as  did  also  your  rulers."  Here  is  a  plain  fact 
laid  down  in  the  Bible.  The  Jews  and  their 
rulers  were  ignorant  of  the  divinity  of  Jesus 
Christ.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  they  crucified 
Christ.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  God  made  them 
reap  that  which^they^had  sown.  There  is  the 
principle  and  it  cannot  be  gainsaid  unless 
you  reject  God's  word.  Now,  those  Jews 
could  have  known  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ; 
they  should  have  known  it,  but  they  did  not 
know  it;  and  God  made  them  reap  that 
which  they  had  sown. 

But,  says  some  shrew^d  skeptic,  ''It  looks 
to  me  as  if  in  dealing  thus,  God  takes  advan- 
tage of  man's  ignorance."  Nay,  verily;  the 
Judge  of  all  the  earth  w411  do  right.  This  same 
principle  holds  in  the  natural  world  and  also 
in  the  jurisprudence  of  the  civilized  world, 
as  well  as  in  God's  moral  world. 


SOWING  AND  REAPING  79 

Suppose  a  man  In  this  audience  is  taken 
suddenly  ill.  He  goes  to  the  drug-store  and 
says  to  the  clerk,  '*I  am  very  sick.  I  feel  that 
I  am  going  to  have  a  chill.  Give  me  some 
quinine."  And  the  clerk,  who  is  drunk,  or 
sleepy,  or  in  any  event  careless,  reaches  to  the 
shelf  and  gets  strychnine  instead  of  quinine. 
The  man  puts  it  in  his  pocket,  goes  home  and 
takes  it,  believing  it  to  be  quinine.  Will  it 
not  kill  him  just  as  dead,  though  taken  in 
ignorance,  as  if  he  knew  exactly  what  he  was 
taking?  Did  God  take  advantage  of  that 
man's  ignorance?  Not  at  all.  He  might 
have  known,  and  his  life  paid  the  forfeit  of 
his  ignorance. 

Let  us  see  if  the  same  principle  hold  true 
in  jurisprudence.  There  is  a  man  out  in  the 
mountains  who  has  what  is  called  a  wild  cat 
distillery.  He  is  making  illicit  whiskey.  The 
United  States  Revenue  officer  finds  it  out. 
arrests  him,  takes  him  to  the  Federal  Court, 
witnesses  are  brought  in  and  it  is  clearly 
proven  that  the  man  is  making  illicit  whiskey. 
The  jury  bring  in  a  verdict  of  guilty,  and  the 
judge,  before  pronouncing  sentence,  asks  if 
he  has  anything  to  say  why  he  should  not  be 
sentenced.     ''Yes,  Mr.  Judge,  I  have  this  to 


80  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

say:  I  did  not  know  that  a  man  in  this  old 
sovereign  State  could  not  own  his  own  land, 
plant  his  own  corn,  make  his  own  money, 
buy  his  own  still,  make  his  own  whiskey  and 
do  what  he  pleased  with  it."  In  reply  the 
judge  says:  "Whether  you  know  it  or  not,  you 
cannot  do  it.  It  is  a  violation  of  the  statutes 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  I  shall 
send  you  to  jail."  Is  that  law,  is  it  equity, 
is  it  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States? 
Yes.  Is  the  United  States  taking  advantage 
of  a  man's  ignorance?  Certainly  not;  he 
could  and  should  have  known  it,  and  he  must 
reap  what  he  has  sown.  Here  is  God's  sacred 
statute  book;  many  of  you  are  living  in  wilful 
and  even  boasted  ignorance  of  its  divine  pre- 
cepts. You  may  live  that  way,  and  you  may 
die  that  way,  but  God  says  He  will  judge  you 
by  that  book,  and  you  shall  reap  what  you 
sow,  whether  you  know  what  you  are  doing 
or  not.  Dear  dying  man,  I  beg  you  to  study 
God's  word,  to  know  what  it  requires  and  then 
obey  its  teachings. 

But  I  hold  this  proposition  is  true  in  the 
third  place,  regardless  of  the  forgiveness  of 
the  sower.  ''What  is  that?"  asks  somebody. 
There  is  no  more  solemn  thought  connected 


SOWING  AND  REAPING  81 

with  life.     God  may  forgive  the  sowing,  but 
you  reap  the  consequences  nevertheless.     *'I 
don't    believe    that,"    replies    the    objector. 
Dear  friend,  it  is  not  a  question  of  what  you 
believe,  nor  of  what  I  believe;  it  is  a  question 
of   what   the   Almighty   God    says.     But   to 
the  law  and  the  testimony.     II  Samuel,  12 :13, 
we  have  a  case  exactly  in  point.     David  had 
committed  the  sin  of  murder  and  adultery. 
God  sent  Nathan  to  reprove  David  and  now 
hear  what  David  said:  ''And  David  said  unto 
Nathan,    I    have    sinned    against    the    Lord. 
And  Nathan  said  unto  David,  The  Lord  also 
hath  put  away  thy  sin;  thou  shalt  not  die." 
His  sin  was  forgiven.     Now  read  the  context 
in    that    chapter.     "The    child    shall    surely 
die;  I  will  take  thy  wives  before  thy  eyes,  and 
give  them  to  thy  neighbor.     The  sword  shall 
never   depart   from   thy   house."     Now,    my 
friends,    there    is    the    principle    laid    down. 
David  had  committed  sin.     God  had  forgiven 
the   sin.     Nevertheless,    David   to   his  dying 
day  reaped  the  consequences  of  that  sin.     One 
of  the  most  solemn  things  in  life  and  the  most 
awful  things  of  our  sin  is  that  you  must  reap 
the  consequences,  even  though  forgiven. 


82  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Some  one  asks,  "What  then  is  the  difference 
between  a  saint  and  a  sinner?"  So  far  as  the 
law  is  concerned,  there  is  no  difference,  when 
God  is  deaHng  with  them  as  amenable  to  His 
moral  law.  So  far  as  heaven  and  hell  are 
concerned,  the  saint  does  all  his  sad  reaping 
here,  and  none  of  it  hereafter.  The  sinner 
may  do  some  of  his  reaping  here,  and  the 
remainder  in  eternity.  Allow  me  to  give  you 
a  very  practical  illustration.  Suppose  in  the 
morning  you^'go  to  your  front  gate  and  drive 
some  nails  in  the  gate-post.  After  you  have 
driven  the  nails  in,  you  take  a  claw-hammer 
and  pull  them  out.  Yes,  but  you  cannot  pull 
the  nail  holes  out.  Dear  friend,  here  are 
som.e  of  you  with  the  sledge-hammer  of  sin 
driving  the  spikes  of  iniquity  deep  into  the 
door-post  of  your  soul;  some  of  them  spikes 
of  profanity,  adultery,  drunkenness.  God  in 
sovereign  grace  may  some  day  come  down  and 
extract  these  nails  of  iniquity  from  the  door- 
post of  your  soul,  but  the  scars  are  there,  the 
consequences  are  there,  and  so  certain  as  God 
lives,  you  will  reap  those. 

You  are  a  man  of  family,  sitting  around 
your  own  table  in  the  presence  of  your 
children.     You  may  jeer  at  God's  word,  talk 


SOWING  AND  REAPING  83 

lightly  of  Holy  things,  slightingly  of  ministers 
and  churches,  destro3ang  faith  in  the  Bible. 
What  are  you  doing  but  sapping  the  very 
foundations  of  your  boy's  moral  character? 
Later  you  may  see  that  boy  a  drunken  wretch, 
or  in  the  penitentiary  for  defrauding  an  em- 
plo3^er.  Why?  Because  you  have  stamped 
falsely  and  with  evil  his  ideas  of  moral  recti- 
tude. You  may  see  him  a  wreck,  moral, 
physical,  social  and  an  eternal  wreck.  You 
may  repent  of  your  sin  and  by  God's  grace 
be  forgiven  for  your  neglect  and  false  teaching, 
but  if  you  should  be,  you  have  a  harvest  that 
you  will  reap  until  your  dying  day.  There  is, 
there  can  be  no  help  for  it. 

I  come  now  to  my  second  proposition: 
The  reaping  is  of  the  quality  of  the  sowing. 
Hear  the  text:  "Be  not  deceived;  God  is  not 
mocked:  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that 
shall  he  also  reap."  That,  not  something 
else.  Not  something  like  it  but  that  shall  he 
also  reap.  This  proposition  is  true  in  nature. 
In  Gen.  1:11  we  find  these  words:  ''The 
fruit-tree  yielding  fruit  after  his  kind."  Here 
is  a  great  principle  laid  down  the  morning  of 
creation  by  God  himself,  that  like,  in  the 
material  w^orld,  shall  produce  like;  that  the 


84  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

fruit  tree  shall  bear  fruit  after  his  kind.  In 
other  words  what  is  sown,  that  same  thing 
shall  be  reaped.  From  the  day  that  God 
made  the  first  grain  of  wheat  down  to  the 
present  day,  w^heat  has  never  produced  any- 
thing except  wheat.  And  so  with  rye,  and 
oats  and  barley;  they  have  never  produced 
anything  else.  I  challenge  the  skeptic  to  show 
an  exception  in  the  material  world.  There 
has  never  been  an  instance  where  one  species 
produced  another  species.  There  may  be 
changes,  varieties,  improvements,  but  it  is 
wheat  and  you  cannot  make  wheat  produce 
any  other  kind  of  grain  than  wheat.  Just  so 
in  the  whole  material  universe.  There  is  that 
fundamental  principle  as  old  as  creation  and 
running  through  the  world,  like  produces 
like. 

In  the  second  place,  I  hold  that  this  propo- 
sition is  equally  true  in  grace.  Read  Gal. 
6:8:  "For  he  that  soweth  to  his  flesh  shall  of 
the  flesh  reap  corruption;  but  he  that  soweth 
to  the  Spirit  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  life  ever- 
lasting." That  is  the  principle  that  like 
produces  like;  holds  good  in  the  moral  world. 
From  the  day  that  Adam  fell  down  to  this  day, 
there  has  not  been  an  exception  in  the  moral 


SOWING  AND  REAPING  85 

and  spiritual  world  to  that  principle.  Now, 
we  have  two  great  fundamental,  parallel 
principles  running  through  and  through  the 
material  and  moral  universe  of  God.  Like 
produces  like  in  the  natural  world;  like  pro- 
duces like  in  the  moral  world.  If  I  may  use 
the  figure,  these  two  are  the  Jachin  and  Boaz 
in  God's  great  temple  of  truth,  and  the  word 
of  God. 

Now,  when  you  talk  about  there  being  no 
hell,  no  future  punishment,  no  eternal  death, 
you  talk  as  illogically,  as  unscientifically,  as 
unscripturally,  as  the  man  that  says  acorns 
produce  walnuts  and  wheat  produces  barley. 
Heaven  and  hell  rest  on  this  great  fundamental 
basis,  and  you  will  have  to  over-turn  the  moral 
universe  of  God  in  order  to  prevent  like  from 
producing  like  in  either  the  material  or  the 
spiritual  world.  Brethren,  when  you  can 
show  one  case  where  this  principle  in  the 
natural  world  is  not  true,  then,  and  not  till 
then,  you  can  call  in  question  the  great  doc- 
trine of  an  eternal  hell  and  an  eternal  heaven. 
Friends,  there  is  no  uncertainty  here;  it  is  law; 
it  is  government;  it  is  principle;  it  is  God;  it 
is  eternity. 


86  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

I  hold  in  the  third  place  that  this  is  true  in 
all  history,  both  sacred  and  profane.  In 
Gen.  27:22  we  have  an  historical  case.  You 
remember  the  history  of  Isaac  ^  and  Jacob 
and  Esau,  when  Isaac  sent  Esau  out  to  kill 
the  venison  and  to  make  savory  meat  for  him. 
Then  following  you  remember  how  Rebecca 
sent  Jacob  to  kill  a  kid  and  sent  him  to  his 
father  Isaac,  who  said  to  him,  ''The  voice  is 
Jacob's  voice,  but  the  hands  are  the  hands  of 
Esau."  Thus  Jacob  practices  deception  and 
obtains  the  blessing  by  fraud.  He  sowed  the 
seed  of  deception.  Now,  follow  Jacob's  his- 
tory ever  afterwards.  Of  all  men  about  whom 
I  have  ever  read,  he  was  duped,  deceived  and 
defrauded  to  the  day  of  his  death.  He  makes 
a  contract  for  Rachel,  serves  seven  years  for 
her,  is  duped  by  Laban  and  marries  Leah 
instead  of  Rachel.  He  makes  the  stipulated 
contract  about  his  wages,  and  ten  times  is 
duped.  After  his  sons  are  grow^n,  they  deceive 
him,  dipping  Joseph's  coat  of  many  colors  in 
the  blood  of  a  kid,  telling  the  father  that 
Joseph  is  dead,  and  holding  up  before  him  this 
blood  stained  coat.  What  does  all  this  mean? 
It   means    ''Be   not   deceived;    God    is   not 


SOWING  AND  REAPING  87 

mocked:  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that 
shall  he  also  reap." 

Take  a  case  from  profane  history.  Carlyle 
in  his  French  Revloution  tells  the  story  of  a 
certain  politician,  who  while  discussing  a  grave 
question  and  advocating  a  certain  theory,  was 
addressed  by  somicone  in  the  crowd,  saying, 
''What  about  the  common  people?"  He 
replied,  ''Let  the  common  people  eat  grass." 
The  great  French  Revolution  came  and 
Carlyle  tells  us  that  that  man's  head  was  cut 
from  his  shoulders,  put  on  a  pike  and  paraded 
through  the  streets  with  a  wisp  of  grass  in 
his  mouth.  "Be  not  deceived,  God  is  not 
mocked;  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that 
shall  he  also  reap." 

We  now  come  to  the  third  proposition,  that 
the  reaping  is  in  excess  of  the  sowing.  In 
Mark  4:28,  we  read:  "First  the  blade,  then 
the  ear,  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear." 
When  the  grain  of  wheat  is  sown  from  that 
springs  fifteen  or  twenty  stalks,  each  with  a 
head,  each  head  with  many  grains;  a  very 
large  excess  from  the  sowing.  A  man  tells  one 
lie,  and  he  must  tell  a  dozen  to  cover  that  up, 
then  perhaps  swear  a  half  dozen  to  cover  that 
dozen,  and  in  the  end  perhaps  kill  a  witness 


88  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

to  get  him  out  of  the  wa^^  One  sin — God 
only  knows  what  the  end  will  be.  The  reap- 
ing is  in  excess  of  the  sowing.  Read  as  a 
warning  in  Hosea  8:7:  "For  they  have  sown 
the  wind  and  they  shall  reap  the  whirlwind." 
Then  there  is  the  promise  in  Psalms  126:6: 
"He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing 
precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again  with 
rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him." 
The  principle  is  the  same;  it  has  a  sad  side  to 
it  of  awful  warning;  it  has  a  glorious  side  to  it 
of  precious  encouragement. 

Men  are  sometimes  heard  to  say  "I  don't 
see  any  justice  or  equity  in  God's  shutting  a 
man  up  in  hell  and  making  him  reap  an  eternal 
harvest  for  a  temporary  sowing."  What  is 
your  difficulty?  It  is  this:  You  assume  that 
the  punishment  you  receive  is  in  proportion 
to  the  time  it  takes  to  commit  the  sin,  but 
this  assumption  will  not  stand  the  test  of 
common  sense,  or  law,  or  God's  word.  Sup- 
pose two  men  out  on  the  street  get  into  a 
difficulty.  One  of  them  drawls  a  pistol, 
shoots  the  other  to  death.  You  arrest  him, 
take  him  to  court,  he  is  tried  and  sentenced 
to  the  penitentiary  for  the  balance  of  his 
natural  life.     For  what?     Just  shutting  one 


SOWING  AND  REAPING  89 

eye,  touching  with  one  finger  the  hair  trigger 
and  the  whole  thing  is  done  in  a  flash.     Is  it 
equity  to  send  a  man  to  the  penitentiary  for 
life  for  killing  a  man,  when  it  took  only  one 
second  to  do  it?     Your  law  says  it  is  right; 
it  is  equity.     Just  so  precisely:  how  long  did 
it  take  you  to  do  your  sowing?     Five,  ten, 
fifteen,   forty-five  years.     How  long  does  it 
take  to  do  your  reaping?     All  eternity.     As 
the  man  is  sent  to  the  penitentiary  for  the 
rest  of  his  natural  life  for  the  sin  committed 
in  one  second,  you  are  sent  to  the  penitentiary 
of  the  moral  universe  for  the  balance  of  your 
immortal  life  for  the  sins  you  committed  in 
the  few  years  on  earth.     Your  punishment  is 
in   accordance  with   the   moral   turpitude  of 
your  sin,  and  not  according  to  the  time  it  re- 
quired   to    commit    it.     Dear    dying    sinner, 
I  ask  you  in  God's  name,  are  you  willing  for 
the  poor,  paltry,  temporal  pleasures  that  you 
have  in  sinning  for  a  few  years,  to  reap  a  har- 
vest   of    eternal    anguish    and    punishment? 
Will  you  sell  your  birthright  for  such  a  mess 
of  pottage?     Will  you  sow  to  the  flesh  and 
reap  death? 

Now,  just  one  word  to  Christians:     It  is 
blessed  to  look  at  the  other  side  of  this  ques- 


90  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

tion.  It  is  sowing  a  little  while  and  then 
being  with  God  forever.  God  has  given  to 
me  a  few  seed  to  sow,  and  I  sow  them  some- 
times in  tears  and  pain;  sometimes  in  sorrow. 
But  the  sowing  will  soon  be  over.  After  a 
few  years  my  little  basket  of  seed  will  all  be 
sown  and  the  Master  will  say  ''That  is 
enough,  come  up  higher.  Your  w^ork  is  done." 
I  will  thank  God  for  the  eternity  of  glory,  of 
happiness  and  of  joy  at  His  right  hand  for 
those  who  sow  unto  the  Spirit,  and  reap 
everlasting  life. 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD. 

January  23,  1889,  8  P.  M. 

"Therefore  thus  will  I  do  unto  thee,  0  Israel:  and  because  I  will 
do  this  unto  thee,  prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  0  Israel— Amos  4-l^- 

I  want  to  call  your  attention  especially  to 
the  words,  ''Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,"  and 
I  want  to  talk  to  you  on  that  subject,  Pre- 
paration to  Meet  God. 

The  Jewish  government  was  a  theocracy, 
and  therefore  a  violation  either  of  the  civil 
or  of  the  ecclesiastical  law  was  treason  against 
Almighty  God;  and  of  all  the  sins  of  Israel 
there  was  none  that  was  higher  treason 
against  God  than  was  the  sin  of  idolatry  and 
conformity  to  the  nations  by  whom  they 
were  surrounded.  Now,  they  had  gone  off 
after  these  strange  gods,  they  had  mixed  and 
mingled  and  commingled  with  these  surround- 
ing nations;  they  had  thus  violated  God's 
law  and  been  disobedient  to  His  holy  com- 
mand. Then  God  says:  'Thus  will  I  do  unto 
you;  I  am  going  to  call  you  as  a  nation  to 
judgment;  I  am  going  to  call  you  face  to  face 
with  Me,  and,  as  your  Ruler,  as  your  Judge, 


92  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

I  am  going  to  bring  you  to  a  strict  account 
for  your  moral  treason  against  Me,  your  moral 
Governor.  And  therefore,  Israel,  because  I, 
your  King,  am  going  to  bring  you  face  to  face 
with  Me  in  a  great  settlement,  you  are  to  pre- 
pare to  meet  your  God." 

My  friends,  how  exceedingly  apposite  is 
this  text  to  us,  whether  we  are  Jew  or  Gentile, 
whether  we  were  under  the  old  theocracy  or 
not;  it  matters  not.  We  are  under  the  moral 
government  of  God,  and  amenable  to  that 
government,  and  to  God  as  the  head  of  that 
government.  Now,  you  and  I,  as  individ- 
uals, are  going  to  be  brought  face  to  face  with 
God  in  the  settlement  for  our  stewardship, 
for  the  way  in  which  we  have  lived,  for  the 
way  in  which  we  have  served  Almighty  God; 
we  are  going  to  be  brought  face  to  face  with 
Him  and  be  rewarded  for  the  deeds  done  in 
the  body.  Therefore,  since  our  bodies  are 
going  to  become  dust,  and  since  our  spirits 
are  going  to  God,  Who  gave  them,  to  be  judged 
by  Him,  to  be  rewarded  by  Him,  according 
to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  how  exceed- 
ingly important  it  is  that  you  and  I  prepare 
to  meet  our  God. 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD  93 

Now,  without  any  further  preHminary, 
there  are  just  three  little  short  questions  that 
I  want  to  ask,  and  then  let  God's  word  an- 
swer them,  and  let  God's  word  answer  every 
point  that  is  made  in  this  sermon  tonight. 
The  first  question  is:  Why  should  I  prepare 
to  meet  God?  The  second  is:  How  should  I 
prepare  to  meet  God?  And  the  third  question 
is:    When  should  I  prepare  to  meet  God? 

The  first  question  then,  is.  Why?  Give  us  a 
reason  for  the  thing.  If  you  are  to  prepare  to 
meet  God,  or  if  it  is  your  duty  to  prepare, 
there  are  some  reasons  that  are  very  evident 
why  you  should  do  it.  Then,  why  prepare  to 
meet  God? 

I  answer  first  because  it  is  God  that  you 
are  to  meet.  Hear  the  text,  Amos  4:12:  * 'Pre- 
pare to  meet" — what?  Not  the  President  of 
the  United  States;  not  the  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many; not  the  Czar  of  all  the  Russias;  not 
the  death  angel  in  Egypt;  not  Michael,  nor 
Gabriel — no.  But  ''Prepare  to  meet  God," 
and  not  only  God  but,  mark  it,  "thy  God." 
Not  the  God  of  the  heathen,  but'thy  God;  the 
God  that  made  you,  fashioned  your  body,  cre- 
ated your  soul  and  preserved  your  being;  the 
God  upon  Whose  bounty  you  have  lived  all  your 


94  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

days ;  the  God  Who  sent  His  Son  to  die  for  you ; 
the  God  Who  gave  you  a  revelation  of  His  will ; 
the  God  Who  sent  His  spirit  to  convince  and 
enlighten  you  concerning  your  sin  and  Jesus 
Christ  your  Saviour.  That  is  God,  yes,  thy 
God,  the  omnipotent  God,  the  omniscient  God ; 
the  God  that  knows  your  secret  thoughts,  and 
the  intents  of  your  heart;  the  God  Who  knows 
your  secret  sins,  every  wicked  word  you  ever 
uttered, every  wicked  thought  that  ever  flitted 
through  your  mind,  every  wicked  act  you  ever 
performed,  and  those  dark  deeds  in  the  dead 
hour  of  the  night.  That  is  the  God  you  are 
to  meet.  Who  know^s  all  about  your  condition, 
your  life  and  your  character;  the  omniscient, 
omnipresent,  and  the  holy  God;  the  God  that 
cannot  look  upon  sin  with  any  degree  of 
allowance;  the  God  of  love  and  of  mercy;  the 
God  Whose  love  you  have  spurned  and  Whose 
mercy  you  have  rejected;  the  God  Whose 
spirit  you  have  resisted.  That  is  the  God  that 
you  are  to  meet,  your  soul  stripped  of  these 
clods  of  clay  and  your  spirit  naked  right  there 
before  the  divine  scrutiny,  in  the  presence  of 
Almighty  God. 

O    men,    when    you    had    that   earthquake 
down  in  this  country  and  didn't  know  but 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD  95 

that  the  next  shock  would  bring  you  right 
into  the  presence  of  God,  when  you  didn't 
know  but  that  the  next  time  the  shake  came 
there  would  be  an  ascent  of  your  spirit  right 
face  to  face  w^th  God,  how  did  you  feel? 
My  friends,  there  is  an  earthquake  coming  that 
will  shake  this  old  world  from  center  to  cir- 
cumference; there  is  a  great  cataclysm  coming, 
when  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a 
great  noise,  and  as  a  vesture  shall  they  be 
folded  up  and  laid  aside,  and  your  spirit  shall 
go  into  the  presence  of  Almighty  God.  Ah, 
thoughtless,  careless,  indifferent,  unconcerned 
humanity,  will  you  stop  tonight  and  face 
the  awful  question  that  you  are  going  to  meet 
God? 

The  next  reason  why  you  should  prepare 
to  meet  God  is  that  you  are  unprepared,  many 
of  you,  and  you  are  the  special  ones  that  I  am 
preaching  to.  What  constitutes  preparation 
to  meet  God?  Perhaps  there  might  be  a 
great  deal  of  difference  of  opinion  about  that. 
Let  us  go  to  the  book.  I  want  to  read  you 
now  Rev.  20:11  to  15:  ''And  I  saw  a  great 
white  throne,  and  him  that  sat  on  it,  from 
whose  face  the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled 
aw^ay;  and  there  w^as  found  no  place  for  them. 


96  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

And  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and  great,  stand 
before  God  and  the  books  were  opened;  and 
another  book  was  opened,  which  is  the  book 
of  life;  and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those 
things  which  were  written  in  the  books, 
according  to  their  works.  And  the  sea  gave 
up  the  dead  which  were  in  it;  and  death  and 
hell  delivered  up  the  dead  which  were  in 
them ;  and  they  were  judged  every  man  accord- 
ing to  their  works.  And  death  and  hell  were 
cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  This  is  the  second 
death.  And  whosoever  was  not  found  written  in 
the  book  of  life  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire." 
You  may  say  what  you  please,  but  from 
that  Scripture  this  question  is  settled:  No 
man  is  prepared  to  meet  God  whose  name  is 
not  in  the  book  of  life.  It  matters  not  about 
your  other  books,  about  what  other  books  are 
opened;  it  matters  not  anything  about  who 
he  is,  or  what  he  claims  to  be;  in  the  church 
or  out  of  the  church;  a  moral  man  or  an 
immoral  man;  the  great,  vital  question  is: 
Is  his  name  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life?  They 
are  judged  by  their  work,  then,  and  according 
to  their  work  they  are  to  be  rewarded  or  they 
are  to  be  punished. 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD  97 

What  about  their  destiny?  What  about 
whether  or  not  their  souls  are  going  to  heaven 
to  enjoy  its  rewards,  or  going  to  hell  to  suffer 
its  punishments?  What  is  the  crucial  question 
there?  Turn  over  and  examine  the  book  of 
life ;  if  his  name  is  not  there  he  is  not  prepared 
to  meet  God.  Now,  dear  dying  man,  who  are 
always  talking  about  your  morality  and 
honesty  and  good  deeds  and  sobriety  and  how 
much  better  you  are  than  some  church  mem- 
ber here  who  leads  a  very  inconsistent  life, 
don't  you  see  that  that  is  neither  here  nor 
there?  All  that  cuts  no  figure  in  this  question. 
It  is  not  how  moral  you  are,  how  good  or  how 
bad  you  are.  Is  your  name  on  the  Lamb's 
book  of  life?  You  might  well  ask  that  ques- 
tion, ''Jesus,  my  Saviour,  is  my  name  written 
there?"     That  is  the  great  vital  question. 

Sinners,  your  name  is  not  there.  You 
profane,  wicked,  guilty,  condemned,  Christ- 
rejecting,  God-defying  sinners,  you  know  your 
name  is  not  there.  Then,  you  are  not  pre- 
pared to  meet  God.  I  beg  you,  as  God's 
ambassador,  this  night  that  you  will  accept  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  your  Saviour  and  pass 
from  death  unto  life  and  be  born  of  God,  and 


98  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

then  have  your  name  written  on  the  Lamb's 
book  of  life. 

Another  reason  why  you  should  prepare  to 
meet  God  is  because  that  meeting  is  inevitable, 
2  Cor.  5:10:  ''For  we  must  all  appear  before 
the  judgment  seat  of  Christ."  We,  you  and 
I,  descendants  of  Adam;  we  all,  saint  and 
sinner,  good,  bad  and  indifferent;  we  all  must 
appear  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ. 
You  may  not  be  ready  to  meet  God;  that  is 
neither  here  nor  there;  you  will  meet  Him. 
You  may  not  want  to  meet  God,  but  you  will 
meet  Him.  You  may  call  upon  the  rocks  and 
the  mountains  and  the  hills  to  fall  upon  you 
and  hide  you  from  His  face.  They  won't  do 
it.  The  edict  of  Almighty  God  has  gone  forth, 
you  shall  meet  Him.  It  may  be  death  and 
eternal  hell  for  you  to  meet  Him;  that  is 
neither  here  nor  there,  you  must  meet  Him. 
Dying  man,  since  it  is  a  fact,  and  the  fiat  of 
Almighty  God  that  you  are  going  to  meet 
Him,  I  ask  you,  will  you  rush  into  His  presence 
unprepared?  Will  you  slight  all  the  warnings 
that  God  gives  you,  live  as  you  live,  and  die 
unprepared,  and  go  into  God's  presence  with- 
out any  preparation  at  all?  Why,  you 
wouldn't   go   to   meet   the   President   of   the 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD  99 

United  States  without  making  some  prepar- 
ation; you  wouldn't  go  into  the  presence  of 
Gabriel  without  some  preparation.  Dying 
man,  will  you  live  in  sin  and  serve  the  devil, 
and  with  all  your  sins  and  iniquity  and  tatter- 
ed, filthy  garments  of  sin  and  corruption,  will 
you  go  right  into  the  presence  of  the  great 
God  unwashed,  unregenerate,  unpardoned, 
unsaved?  Dear  dying  man,  what  are  you 
thinking  about?  Every  day  performs  a  fun- 
eral march  down  to  the  grave  and  up  to  God, 
and  you  are  absolutely  unprepared. 

Another  reason  why  you  should  prepare  to 
meet  God  is  because  of  the  supreme  import- 
ance of  that  meeting.  Hear  the  words  of 
God,  Matt.  16:26:  'Tor  what  is  a  man 
profited,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and 
lose  his  own  soul?"  Let  us  have  a  little 
common  sense  along  with  our  religion,  and 
also  along  with  our  business.  It  is  a  very 
important  matter  for  you  lawyers  to  attend  to 
your  clients;  I  grant  that;  but  it  is  a  great  deal 
more  important  matter  that  you  lawyers  first 
prepare  to  meet  your  God.  It  is  very  import- 
ant that  you  doctors  look  after  your  patients, 
and  you  merchants  after  your  merchandise, 
and  you  farmers  after  your  farms,  and  your 


100  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

crops;  but  it  is  a  thousand  times  more  import- 
ant that  you  prepare  to  meet  your  God. 
Dear,  dying  man,  these  other  questions  are 
absolutely  important;  but  as  much  higher  as 
heaven  is  than  earth,  so  much  higher  is  the  great 
importance  of  preparing  to  meet  your  God 
than  all  these  other  things.  Is  it  not  perfectly 
strange  that  a  man  will  make  a  great  deal  of 
preparation  to  look  after  his  client  and  his 
patients  and  his  merchandise  and  his  farm  and 
his  temporal  and  financial  affairs,  and  then 
make  no  preparation  for  the  future,  no  prepar- 
ation for  ''that  country  from  whose  bourne  no 
traveler  e'er  returns,"  no  preparation  for  that 
meeting  on  which  hinges  heaven  and  hell, 
eternal  glory  and  eternal  despair?  Dear  dying 
man,  may  God's  Holy  Spirit  help  you  to  see 
these  things  in  the  light  of  eternity  and  in  the 
light  of  God's  truth.  Go  on  as  you  are  going, 
neglect  your  God,  reject  Christ,  choke  the 
Scripture,  take  all  of  your  time  for  earthly 
things  and  earthly  treasures,  and  after  a  while 
that  unsaved  spirit  of  yours  will  start  up  to 
meet  its  God,  and  as  you  look  at  the  eternal 
city  and  see  the  glories  of  it,  and  then  look 
back  at  this  poor,  little  old  world  for  which 
you  lost  your  soul  and  then  lost  it,  too,  as 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD  101 

you  are  poised  on  wings  between  heaven  and 
earth  you  will  exclaim,  like  Satan  of  old,  *'Ah 
me;  which  way  shall  I  fly?  Infinite  wrath, 
or  infinite  despair?"  Prepare  to  meet  your 
God  this  night. 

But  again,  I  would  urge  you  to  prepare  to 
meet  God  because  of  the  results  that  hang  on 
that  meeting  between  you  and  your  God. 
Let  me  read  you  a  passage  over  here  from 
God's  word,  Matt.  22:10  to  13:  ''So  those 
servants  went  out  into  the  highways,  and 
gathered  together  all  as  many  as  they  found, 
both  bad  and  good;  and  the  wedding  was 
furnished  with  guests.  And  when  the  king 
came  in  to  see  the  guests,  he  saw  there  a  man 
which  had  not  on  a  wedding  garment.  And  he 
said  unto  him.  Friend,  how  camest  thou  in 
hither  not  having  a  wedding  garment?  And 
he  was  speechless.  Then  said  the  king  to  the 
servants.  Bind  him  hand  and  foot,  and  take 
him  away,  and  cast  him  into  outer  darkness; 
there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth." 
There  is  a  man  who  went  to  a  marriage  supper 
unprepared,  and  what  was  the  result?  The 
first  result  was  that  he  was  speechless.  Dear 
dying  man,  when  you  stand  before  God 
unprepared  to  be  there,  you  will  be  speechless. 


102  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

I  remember  a  man  that  was  tried  for  his 
life  in  Wilmington  while  I  was  there  last 
spring,  and  before  the  sentence  was  pro- 
nounced upon  him  the  judge  said:  ''Prisoner 
at  the  bar,  what  have  you  to  say  why  sentence 
of  death  should  not  be  pronounced  against 
you?"  He  had  nothing  to  say;  he  was  speech- 
less. Dying  man,  that  is  the  way  with  you; 
what  will  you  offer  as  a  vindication  for  your 
not  being  prepared?  What  excuse  will  you 
have  to  give  in  that  awful  day?  There  you 
will  stand  speechless,  a  guilty  soul  before  the 
God  that  made  it.  What  else?  Not  only 
''speechless,"  but  "bind  him  hand  and  foot." 
What  else?  "Take  him  away."  What  else? 
"Cast  him  out  into  outer  darkness."  What 
else?  "There  shall  be  weeping."  And  what 
else?  "There  shall  be  gnashing  of  teeth." 
How  long?  Through  the  eternal  years.  Said 
Jesus  Christ,  "These  shall  go  away  into  ever- 
lasting punishment."  And  now  why? 
Because  they  would  not  prepare  to  meet 
Almighty  God. 

We  now  come  to  the  second  question,  How 
should  I  prepare  to  meet  God?  Let  us  let  the 
Bible  do  its  own  preaching.  God  knows  men 
are  not  prepared  to  meet  Him,  and  God  shows 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD         103 

US  how  we  may  prepare.  I  remark  first  we 
should  prepare  to  meet  God  by  forsaking  our 
sins,  Isa.  55:7:  ''Let  the  wicked  forsake  his 
way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts, 
and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will 
have  mercy  upon  him,  and  to  our  God,  for 
he  will  abundantly  pardon."  Are  you  willing 
to  forsake  it?  You  men  that  get  drunk,  are 
you  willing  to  quit?  You  men  that  cheat; 
you  men  that  live  lascivious  lives;  are  you 
willing  to  quit?  There  is  the  question  face  to 
face  with  you. 

You  are  to  prepare  to  meet  God  by  for- 
saking your  sin.  Are  you  willing  to  do  it? 
Dear  dying  man,  don't  entertain  the  thought 
that  you  are  prepared  to  meet  God  unless 
you  are  willing  to  forsake  those  sins.  If  you 
don't  forsake  them,  they  will  sink  you  down  to 
hell  and  death,  and  therefore  may  God  help 
you  tonight  to  get  the  consent  of  your  mind 
that  you  will  forsake  them. 

May  I  give  you  an  illustration  of  how  your 
sins  will  sink  you  unless  you  forsake  them? 
Several  years  ago  I  was  in  Evansville,  Ind., 
and  I  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Nesbit,  one  of  the 
wealthy  men  of  that  place,  who  went  to  Cal- 
ifornia with  the  Forty-niners,  during  the  great 


104  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

gold-digging  excitement.  He  said :  *'We  dug 
our  gold,  and  when  we  started  to  come  back 
to  this  part  of  the  country  there  was  a  man  on 
the  boat  who  had  all  of  his  gold  in  a  belt 
around  his  body.  Many  of  us  had  our  gold 
on  us.  We  were  on  a  steamer  on  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  and  this  man  who  had  all  the  gold 
belted  around  him  was  walking  along  on  the 
edge  of  the  vessel.  The  water  was  very  rough, 
and  as  the  vessel  careened  one  way  the  man 
careened  over  the  other  way,  lost  his  balance, 
and  over  he  went.  Before  they  could  get  the 
life-boats  there  to  him,  the  poor  man  went 
dow^n,  sunk  by  the  weight  of  his  belt  of  gold. 
O  Mr.  Pearson,  the  expression  of  that  face, 
that  despair,  the  awful  look  of  anguish,  as  he 
held  up  both  hands  and  went  right  down  in  the 
water  to  the  bottom  of  the  Gulf  before  we 
could  get  the  lifeboat  to  him!" 

Dear  sinners,  that  is  about  the  case  with 
you.  Some  of  these  days  you  will  go  over  the 
edge  of  the  boat,  and  you  will  go  down  in  the 
great  sea  of  death,  and  how  will  you  go?  You 
are  here  tonight,  some  of  you  with  a  belt  of 
iniquity  around  you,  some  with  a  belt  of 
profanity,  some  with  a  belt  of  covetousness, 
and  the  various  other  kinds  of  belts.     Those 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD         105 

belts  of  Iniquity  will  sink  your  soul  down  to 
hell  and  eternal  death.  Now,  I  beg  you 
tonight,  in  God's  name,  just  unbuckle  that 
belt  of  profanity,  or  of  lewdness,  or  of  covet- 
ousness,  and  throw  it  away.  Forsake  your 
sin  and  turn  to  God,  and  God's  word  for  it,  He 
will  abundantly  pardon.     Will  you  do  it? 

Another  way  for  you  to  prepare  to  meet 
your  God  is  by  repenting  of  your  sins.  Hear 
what  God  says.  Acts  8 :22 :  ''Repent  therefore 
of  this  thy  wickedness."  Thy  wickedness — 
your  sin,  dear  man;  repent  of  it,  and  that  is 
the  way  to  prepare  to  meet  God. 

Let  us  go  a  step  further:  You  are  also  to 
prepare  to  meet  your  God  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ.  In  John  6:29  Jesus  says:  'This  is 
the  work  of  God,  that  ye  believe  in  him  whom 
he  hath  sent."  What  do  you  believe?  Not 
simply  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  not  simply 
that  he  was  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  not 
simply  that  he  died  for  sinners;  but  you  are 
to  believe  that  he  died  for  you,  that  he  loved 
you,  that  he  is  willing  to  save  you,  that  he 
is  your  Saviour,  and  that  you  will  commit  your 
soul  into  his  hands  and  into  his  keeping  right 
away  and  right  now.  Man,  will  you  do  that? 
Will  you  do  that  tonight?    Will  you  forsake 


106  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

your  sins  tonight?  Will  you  repent  of  those 
sins  tonight,  and  will  you  say,  Here,  Lord 
Jesus,  I  believe  that  you  are  the  Son  of  God, 
I  believe  you  are  my  Saviour,  I  believe  you  died 
for  me,  I  commit  my  soul  into  your  hands? 
Will  you  do  it?  If  you  will,  God  will  save 
you  right  here  and  right  now. 

The  next  question  is:  You  must  prepare 
to  meet  your  God  by  making  restitution  to 
your  fellowmen.  I  am  now  going  to  make  a 
point  that  is  not  often  made  in  preaching, 
not  as  often  as  it  ought  to  be,  a  very  solemn, 
vital  point.  You  are  to  prepare  to  meet  your 
God  by  making  restitution  to  your  fellowmen 
whom  you  have  wronged,  injured  or  defrauded 
in  any  way  whatsoever.  Now,  hear  what 
God  says,  Ex.  22:12:  ''And  if  it  be  stolen 
from  him,  he  shall  make  restitution  unto  the 
owner  thereof.*'  The  word  stolen  there  means 
obtained  unlawfully,  or  without  giving  value 
received.  There  is  God's  principle  laid  down, 
that  when  you  have  gotten  anything  that  does 
not  belong  to  you,  you  shall  make  restitution 
for  it.  "But,"  says  somebody,  "that  is  in 
the  Old  Testament  Scriptures."  Yes,  it  is; 
but  it  is  God's  word  just  the  same.  I  want  to 
read  over  here  from  the  19th  chapter  of  Luke, 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD         107 

the  first  nine  verses:    "And  Jesus  entered  and 
passed  through  Jericho.     And  behold,  there 
was  a  man  named  Zacchaeus,  which  was  the 
chief  among  the  pubHcans,  and  he  was  rich. 
And  he  sought  to  see  Jesus  who  he  was;  and 
could  not  for  the  press,  because  he  was  little 
of  stature.     And  he  ran  before  and  climbed 
up  into  a  sycamore  tree  to  see  him;  for  he  was 
to  pass  that  way.     And  when  Jesus  came  to 
the  place,  he  looked  up,  and  saw  him,  and  said 
unto  him,  Zacchaeus,  make  haste  and  come 
down;  for  today  I  must  abide  at  thy  house. 
And   he   made   haste   and   came   down,    and 
received  him  joyfully.     And  when  they  saw 
it,  they  all  murmured,  saying:    That  he  was 
gone  to  be  guest  with  a  man  that  is  a  sinner. 
And  Zacchaeus  stood,  and  said  unto  the  Lord: 
Behold,  Lord,  the  half  of  my  goods  I  give  to 
the  poor;  and  if  I  have  taken  anything  from 
any  man  by  false  accusation,   I  restore  him 
fourfold.     And  Jesus  said   unto  him:     This 
day  is  salvation,  come  to  this  house,  forsomuch 
as  he  also  is  a  son  of  Abraham."    The  idea  of 
the  word  ''restore"  is  "make  restitution."^ 
I  don't  make  the  point  from  that  that  this 
man  Zacchaeus  was  saved   because  he  made 
restitution,  but  I  do  make  the  point  that  if  he 


108  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

had  refused  to  make  restitution  in  view  of  the 
Scripture  back  here  in  Ex.  22:12,  he  would 
not  have  been  saved.  Here  we  have  a  vital, 
fundamental  principle:  You  cannot  be  just 
with  God  and  unjust  with  your  fellowman; 
you  cannot  be  God's  child  and  wrongly 
defraud  your  fellowman.  In  other  words,  you 
can't  be  truly  pious  and  not  be  truly  honest. 

Now,  I  am  going  to  do  some  plain  talking, 
and  I  hope  nobody  will  think  it  is  malice,  for 
I  can't  help  it. 

This  idea  that  a  man  can  be  a  saint,  a  child 
of  God,  an  elder,  a  deacon,  a  steward  in  God's 
church  and  walk  around  here  with  some  other 
man's  money  away  down  in  his  pocket,  hold- 
ing it  tight  as  he  can,  and  refusing  to  pay  his 
just  debts,  is  a  grand  mistake.  That  man 
that  has  another  man's  money  in  his  pockets, 
and  sits  up  high  in  God's  house  of  Sundays, 
and  puts  his  hand  over  his  mouth  and  says 
"AMEN,"  and  then  don't  pay  his  honest 
debts,  is  a  pious  old  fraud,  so-called.  Talk  to 
me  about  being  a  man  of  God  and  not  honest 
with  your  fellowman!  Do  you  claim  to  be  a 
child  of  God?  Yes.  Do  you  pay  your  grocery 
bill?  Do  you  pay  your  doctor  bills?  Do  you 
pay  your  lawyer  bills?     Do  you   pay  your 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD         109 

store  accounts?  Do  you  pay  all  of  your  honest 
debts?  ''No,  I  don't  pay  them  all."  Take 
down  your  sign  for  being  a  child  of  God; 
no  such  thing  as  that  on  it.  A  man  that  won't 
pay  his  honest  debts  is  a  dishonest  man. 
He  is  robbing  his  fellowman  and  refusing  to 
make  restitution  therefor. 

But  I  hear  some  man  say:  ''Look  here, 
Pearson,  you  are  very  tight  on  us."  Yes,  I 
am.  I  hear  another  man  say:  "Look  here, 
Pearson,  I  have  got  a  little  debt  on  hand  I 
can't  pay."  Now  if  you  can't — be  certain 
you  can't — if  you  can't,  go  to  that  man  to 
whom  you  owe  that  debt,  and  make  an  honest, 
plain,  straightforward,  frank  statement,  and 
say,  "I  will  pay  you  along  as  I  can,"  and,  in 
the  meantime,  don't  put  on  so  much  style. 
Pay  your  debts,  whether  you  put  on  any  style 
or  not.  But  I  imagine  I  hear  somebody  else 
say:  "Look  here,  here  is  an  old  debt  con- 
tracted back  yonder  before  the  war.  I  can't 
pay  that."  You  had  better  pay  it,  or  you  had 
better  make  a  fair,  honest  effort  and  make 
restitution  as  far  as  it  is  possible  for  you  to  go. 

I  wouldn't  hold  up  my  personal  experience 
for  any  man  to  go  by,  but  I  want  to  speak  of 
one  little  thing  that   I   thank  God  for  and 


no  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

appreciate  very  highly.  My  father  was  a 
Southern  man  and  owned  slaves,  and  just 
before  the  war  broke  out  he  bought  quite  a 
number.  He  then  went  into  the  Confederate 
army,  and  fought  in  the  war.  When  he  came 
back  his  slaves  were  all  gone  and  he  was  a 
poor  man.  Some  of  his  neighbors  said : ' 'Plead 
the  bankrupt  law,  Pearson,  in  paying  off  the 
old  negro  debt,"  and  he  said:  ''No,  I  won't 
do  it;  it  is  an  honest  debt,  contracted  in  good 
faith,  and  I  will  pay  it,"  and  he  worked 
hard  and  he  did  pay  it,  and  though  he  left 
his  children  with  no  property,  thank  God, 
he  left  them  with  a  clean  record ;  the  heritage 
of  an  honest  name  to  a  lot  of  poor  children  is 
worth  a  great  deal  more  than  if  he  had  left 
them  a  fortune  of  millions  with  the  abominable 
taint  upon  his  character  that  he  did  not  pay 
his  debts. 

Again,  have  you  wronged  some  man?  Have 
you  fleeced  him  in  a  trade?  Have  you  taken 
advantage  of  him?  Have  you  gotten  his 
money  without  giving  value  received?  Have 
you  cheated  him  in  any  kind  of  trade?  Dear 
man,  as  you  value  your  soul  and  heaven,  you 
will  go  and  make  restitution  for  that. 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD         111 

I  want  to  tell  you  just  two  incidents  that 
occurred  under  my  own  immediate  obser- 
vation on  this  matter  of  paying  old  debts. 
Several  years  ago  I  was  in  Marshall,  Tex., 
holding  a  meeting,  and  there  was  a  man  in 
that  town  who  had  been  a  deacon  in  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church  for  25  years 
and  he  had  never  been  converted  either,  but 
he  was  converted  during  the  meeting.  There 
was  a  man  in  that  town  to  whom  he  owed 
debts  way  back  yonder  before  the  war,  and 
the  morning  after  he  was  converted  he  went 
around  to  that  man  down  at  the  Court  House, 
and  said:  ''Here,  I  owe  you  a  debt.  You 
know  I  can  plead  the  statute  of  limitations  on 
you,  and  you  know  that  I  took  the  bankrupt 
law  after  the  war;  you  know  that  you  cannot 
by  law  collect  a  bit  of  this  money.  But,  sir, 
here  is  a  deed  to  the  best  corner  lot  I  have  got 
in  this  town,  and  the  house  upon  it.  It  is  yours, 
I  have  made  it  out  to  you.  Now,  go  up  in  the 
Court  House  and  have  it  recorded."  That  is 
what  I  call  getting  down  to  business,  if  I  may 
use  such  an  expression.  That  is  what  I  call 
genuine,  earnest,  honest  godliness. 

There  was  also  in  that  same  town  a  young 
man  converted  there  one  night.     He  was  a 


112  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

poor  young  man,  and  he  owed  another  man 
in  that  town  about  $100,  and  the  next  morning 
he  went  down  to  that  man  and  said:  ''Look 
here,  I  was  converted  last  night.  God  forgave 
my  sins.  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  I  owe  you 
$100,  and  all  I  have  in  this  world  is 
one  very  ordinary  little  horse,  and  these 
hands  of  mine  to  work  for  me.  You  go 
down  there  to  that  livery  stable,  put  that 
halter  on  that  horse,  bring  him  out  on  the 
corner  and  sell  him  to  the  highest  bidder, 
put  the  money  in  your  pocket,  and  when  I 
have  the  balance  I'll  pay  you  that."  That  is 
what  I  call  godliness  in  earnest  and  genuine 
Christianity.  If  you  have  not  got  religion 
enough  to  make  you  an  honest  man,  you  are 
a  pious  old  fraud.  If  you  have  not  got  religion 
enough  to  make  you  pay  your  debts  and  make 
restitution  to  your  fellowman,  dear  dying 
sinners,  you  are  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and 
the  bond  of  iniquity. 

I  find  out  as  I  mix  and  mingle  with  men 
and  travel  up  and  down  this  land,  that  there 
is  nothing  in  the  world  that  makes  sceptics 
and  scoffers  and  sneerers  and  infidels  faster 
than  a  lot  of  men  belonging  to  God's  church 
and  saying  they  are  God's  saints,  who  won't 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD         113 

pay  their  honest  debts.  There  is  not  a  greater 
drawback  to  Christianity  today  than  this  very 
thing. 

That  is  the  way  to  prepare  to  meet  God, 
forsake  your  sins,  repent  of  your  sins,  put 
your  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  pay  your  debts, 
make  restitution  and  be  an  honest  man. 

We  now  come  to  the  last  question,  and  very 
briefly  on  that:  When  shall  I  do  all  these 
things?  When  shall  I  prepare  to  meet  God? 
Hear  the  book,  Isa.  55:  "Seek  ye  the  Lord 
while  he  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon  him 
while  he  is  near."  Then  the  time  to  prepare 
to  meet  God  is  when  God  may  be  found  ready 
to  pardon,  forgive  and  save  your  soul.  That 
is  the  time  to  prepare. 

You  should  prepare  during  the  particular 
time  that  God  has  appointed.  Hence  Luke 
19:41,  42:  ''And  when  he  was  come  near  he 
beheld  the  city,  and  wept  over  it,  saying,  if 
thou  hadst  known,  even  thou,  at  least  in  this 
thy  day,  the  things  which  belong  unto  thy 
peace.  But  now^  they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes.'* 
That  is,  the  things  which  pertained  to  Jer- 
usalem's peace  were  disregarded  at  the  time 
that  God  appointed,  when  they  should  have 
been  regarded.     It  was  then  hid  from  their 


114  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

eyes,  and  their  house  was  left  desolate.  Dear 
sinner,  tonight  is  the  time  God  has  appointed 
for  you ;  now  is  the  time  God  has  appointed  for 
this  matter;  and  I  beg  you,  in  God's  name, 
attend  to  it  now,  while  you  may.  If  not,  soon 
it  shall  be  said  of  you:  These  things  are  hid 
from  your  eyes. 

Another  reason  is  that  you  should  prepare 
while  the  means  are  near.  Luke  13:34:  ''O 
Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  which  killest  the  pro- 
phets, and  stonest  them  that  are  sent  unto 
thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy 
children  together,  as  a  hen  doth  gather  her 
brood  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not." 
No;  there  was  the  means  afforded  Israel;  the 
prophets  were  sent,  and  then  other  prophets 
were  sent,  and  then  Jesus  Christ  was  sent,  and 
this  Testament  was  sent ;  but  all  of  these  means 
were  utterly  disregarded,  and  the  day  passed 
by,  and  the  Jews  must  meet  their  God  unpre- 
pared. So  it  was  with  you,  friends;  you  have 
the  means  tonight,  God's  word,  God's  spirit, 
God's  church,  the  preached  gospel;  all  these 
means  God  offers  you  tonight.  Will  you  use 
them  while  you  may?  You  will  not  always 
have  them. 


PREPARATION  TO  MEET  GOD  115 

Another  time  that  you  should  prepare  is 
while  the  evils  may  be  averted.  Hence  we 
read  in  Prov.  22:3:  ''A  prudent  man  fore- 
seeth  the  evil  and  hideth  himself;  but  the 
simple  pass  on,  and  are  punished."  Here  are 
two  men  walking  down  that  railroad  track; 
they  see  that  monstrous,  heavy  mogul  engine 
rolling  down  towards  them.  The  prudent 
man  will  get  off  the  track  and  out  of  the  way. 
He  would  be  a  very  foolish  and  silly  man  that 
would  walk  along  on  the  track  and  let  the 
ponderous  engine  run  over  him  and  crush  the 
life  out  of  him.  Dying  sinner,  can't  you  see 
the  consequences?  Remorse,  despair,  damna- 
ation,  guilt,  eternal  wrath,  eternal  death, 
bound  hand  and  foot,  speechless,  cast  away 
into  outer  darkness,  there  to  endure  the  wrath 
of  God  forever?  Don't  you  see  those  things 
staring  you  in  the  face? 

Lastly,  you  should  prepare  when  the  reward 
may  be  secured.  Rev.  22:12:  ''And,  behold 
I  come  quickly;  and  my  reward  is  with  me,  to 
give  every  man  according  as  his  work  shall  be." 
Then,  dear  dying  man,  here  is  an  opportunity 
tonight;  here  is  the  time  when  you  can  secure 
the  rewards  that  God  gives  you;  here  is  the 
glorious  reward  of  His  blessed  gospel;  here  is 


116  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

pardon,  peace,  eternal  life,  salvation,  an  inheri- 
tance at  God's  right  hand;  here  is  a  crown 
of  glory  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge, 
will  give  at  that  day  to  all  those  who  love  and 
fear  Him  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  You  can 
secure  those  rewards  tonight;  you  can  secure 
that  inheritance  tonight.  Will  you  do  it? 
That  is  the  time  to  prepare  to  meet  your  God. 


EXCUSES 

January  21,  1889,  8  P.  M. 
"And  they  all  with  one  consent  began  to  make  excuse.'' — John 
14:18. 

Here  was  a  man  who  prepared  a  great 
supper,  and  he  sent  out  his  servants,  and  he 
bade  the  guests;  but  one  man  made  one  excuse, 
another  man  made  another  excuse,  and  still 
a  third  man  a  third  excuse,  etc.  Then  the 
man  said  that  none  of  those  who  were  bidden 
should  taste  of  his  supper. 

How  exceedingly  applicable  are  these  things 
to  us.  God  has  provided  the  great,  glorious 
gospel  feast,  and  to  that  he  says:  'Whoso- 
ever will,  let  him  come  and  take  the  water  of 
life  freely,"  and  while  hundreds  and  thousands 
have  come,  yet  tonight  there  are  a  great  many 
who  are  holding  off  and  hesitating  and  making 
their  various  excuses  for  not  becoming  Chris- 
tians. 

So  tonight  I  want  to  talk  to  the  unsaved 
people  of  this  audience  about  the  excuses  that 
they  are  in  the  habit  of  making  for  not  becom- 
ing Christians.  Now,  let  it  be  distinctly  under- 
stood, God  is  not  going  to  coerce  you  into  the 


118  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

kingdom  of  heaven.  Let  it  also  be  understood 
that  as  God's  ambassador  I  am  not  here  for 
any  quarrel  with  you  whatever  about  this 
matter.  It  is  your  prerogative  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian, or  not  to  be  one;  it  is  your  prerogative 
to  accept  God's  invitation,  or  to  reject  it. 
What  I  want  to  do  tonight  is  not  to  fall  out 
with  you  for  making  excuses,  but  to  take  those 
excuses  that  you  do  make  and  hold  them  up 
to  your  judgment,  your  conscience,  your 
understanding,  in  the  light  of  God's  word  and 
the  judgment  day  and  of  the  great  eternity, 
and  to  show  you  how  flimsy  and  how  un- 
reasonable and  how  fallacious  they  are;  then 
to  leave  you  alone  with  your  conscience  and 
with  your  God,  and  if  you  are  not  willing  to  give 
up  that  flimsy  excuse,  nothing  more  can  be 
said,  or  done.  If  you  are  willing  to  give  it 
up,  we  will  thank  God  for  it.  Now,  of  course 
in  one  sermon  I  can't  notice  all  the  excuses 
that  men  make  for  not  becoming  Christians ; 
I  shall  therefore  not  try  to  do  it;  but  I  am 
going  to  pick  about  one  dozen,  and  they  are 
as  good  a  dozen,  if  any  of  them  can  be  called 
good,  as  can  be  found  in  the  entire  list;  and 
I  am  going  to  expose  those  in  the  light  of 


EXCUSES  119 

God's  word  and  of  common  sense,  and  from 
the  dozen  you  may  judge  all  the  rest. 

Now,  without  any  further  preliminary,  the 
first  excuse  I  wish  to  notice  is  this.  I  hear 
some  man  say  **I  don't  believe  in  Christ. 
That  is  the  reason  that  I'm  not  a  Christian." 
You  say  you  don't?  ''No,  I  don't  believe  the 
Bible."  Let  us  see  what  God  says  about  this 
matter.  John  12:48:  ''He  that  rejecteth  me, 
and  receiveth  not  my  words,  hath  one  that 
judgeth  him;  the  word  that  I  have  spoken, 
the  same  shall  judge  him  in  the  last  day." 
Now,  there  is  your  position  laid  down  by 
Jesus  Christ,  that  you  are  going  to  be  judged 
by  this  Bible.  That  is  God's  word,  and  that 
is  God's  authority,  and  what  you  may  be 
pleased  to  think  about  this  Bible,  pro  or  con, 
good,  bad  or  indifferent,  cuts  no  figure  as  to  the 
truth  of  the  Bible.  It  cuts  no  figure  as  to  the 
determination  of  Almighty  God  that  your  soul 
is  going  to  be  judged  by  it.  None  whatever. 
You  infidels  and  free-thinkers  and  God-defy- 
ing and  Christ-rejecting  sinners,  God  is  going 
to  judge  you  by  that  Bible  you  deny  just  the 
same  as  he  judges  the  saints  of  God. 

Some  men  have  the  theory  in  their  heads 
that  if  they  don't  believe  the  Bible,  therefore 


120  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

the  Bible  is  a  lie.     It  is  a  delusion  of  hell  that 
you  are  entertaining,  dear  dying  man.     You 
don't   believe  the    Bible?      *'No."      What   is 
your  opinion  worth?     You  don't  know  any- 
thing about  the  Bible.    I  don't  care  what  you 
say  or  what  you  believe.     I  have  met  a  great 
many  infidels  in  my  day,  and  I  have  had  a 
great  many  of  them  to  tell  me  that  they  know 
a  great  deal  about  the  Bible,  and  I  have  to 
meet  the  first  one  yet  who  can   stand  to  be 
catechized  five  minutes  about  the  Bible  with- 
out showing  his  consummate  ignorance.    You 
don't  know  anything  about  it.    You  may  be 
a  very  profound  and  intelligent  lawyer,  or  a 
very  skillful  and  intelligent  doctor,  or  a  very 
successful  banker,  or  a  fine  civil  engineer,  a 
profoundly  intelligent  man  about  many  things, 
but  I  tell  you,  sir,  and  you  know  it  is  true,  you 
don't  know  anything  about  that  Bible.     You 
have  never  studied  it,  you  have  never  prayed 
over  it,  you  have  never  examined  it,  you  have 
never  conscientiously  and  thoroughly  investi- 
gated it,  and  you  don't  know  anything  about 
it.    I  know  you  don't  and  you  know  you  don't. 
Let  us  see  what  your  opinion  is  worth. 

Suppose    a    legal    ignoramus    should    walk 
around  on  the  street  here  tomorrow  and  meet 


EXCUSES  121 

five  or  six  of  the  best  lawyers  and  judges  in 
this  town  or  county  or  state  and  say:     ''All 
those  principles  of  evidence  as  laid  down  by 
Story  and  all  the  principles  of  jurisprudence  as 
elucidated  by  Blackstone  and  Kent  are  non- 
sense.   Those  men  didn't  have  any  legal  sense, 
and  I  reject  it  all  as  legal  bosh."     Suppose 
he  has  never  studied  them.     What  would  an 
intelligent  lawyer  give  for  his  opinion?     He 
has   no   right   to   have   an   opinion   on    that 
subject,  and  he  knows  nothing  about  it.     He 
is  just  venting  his  ignorance,  that  is  all.     A 
young  man  meets  four  or  five  of  the  most 
intelligent  physicians  in  the  town,  and  turns 
loose  a  tirade  on  the  medical  works  and  the 
whole  medical  fraternity.     ''Have  you  ever 
taken   a  course  of  medical   study?"      "No." 
What  do  you  think  your  opinion  will  be  worth 
on  a  medical  subject?    Suppose  a  young  man 
meets  a  civil  engineer  on  the  street  and  begins 
to  ridicule  the  whole  business  of  civil  engineer- 
ing, it  is  all  bosh,  that  he  and  all  the  rest  of 
the  civil  engineers  have  no  sense;  that  it  is 
a   kind   of   conjuring,    etc.,   what   would   his 
opinion  be  worth? 

Just  so   precisely,    here   is   a  consummate 
scriptural  ignoramus — that  is  the  right  word 


122  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

— he  knows  no  more  about  God  Almighty's 
word  than  that  ignoramus  knows  about  Black- 
stone  or  this  other  ignoramus  knows  about 
medicine  and  the  other  ignoramus  about  civil 
engineering;  and  yet  here  he  is  setting  himself 
up  as  a  judge,  and  parading  his  little  infidelity 
around  in  the  street,  that  the  Bible  is  a  lie, 
and  he  doesn't  believe  it.  I  have  no  more 
respect  for  your  little  cheap  infidelity  than 
your  lawyers  or  these  doctors  or  the  civil 
engineer  for  the  other  men.  You  are  not 
entitled  to  any  more.  I  am  talking  plainly, 
because  I  know  what  I  am  talking  about,  and 
you  know  it.  Some  of  you  think,  ''Mr. 
Pearson,  you  are  putting  that  a  little  strong." 
No,  I  am  not.  I  have  met  a  great  many  of 
these  infidels,  and  I  have  got  one  standing 
question  that  I  have  always  asked  them,  and 
I  have  never  failed  to  knock  the  feet  from 
under  them  with  it.  To  give  you  one  case  out 
of  fifty,  I  remember  up  here  in  St.  Louis  I 
met  a  man  very  intelligent  about  a  great 
many  things.  I  said  to  him:  ''Are  you  a 
Christian?"  "No,  sir."  "Do  you  believe  the 
Bible?"  "No,  sir,  I  reject  and  repudiate  the 
whole  thing,  and  I  have  gone  through  the 
Bible,    investigated    it,    and  know    all   about 


EXCUSES  123 

it."  "You  do,"  said  I.  ''I  want  to  ask  you 
just  one  question:  Will  you  please  tell  me 
who  wrote  the  book  of  Samson?"  'The  book 
of  Samson? — the  book  of  Samson?  I  forget 
just  now  who  wrote  the  book  of  Samson." 
And  now  you  can  imagine  just  how  blank  the 
poor  fellow  did  look  when  I  said:  *'My  poor, 
dying  man,  there  is  not  such  a  book  as  that  in 
God's  word."  And  there  is  not  an  infidel  in 
Greenville  who  could  have  told  who  wrote 
the  book  of  Samson  before  I  told  that. 

Now,  I  want  to  ask  you  two  or  three  pointed 
questions.      You  don't  believe  the  Bible? 
*'No."      Is   it   because   you    have   got   more 
brains   than   all    the    other    godly,    eminent 
men  who  have  lived  and  died?     Is  it  because 
you  are  a  more  profound  and  erudite  scholar 
than  all  the  men  living  or  dead  who  have 
believed  it?     You  would  not  say  that.     Are 
you    more    honest    or    conscientious?      You 
would  not  say  that.     Why  don't  you  believe 
the  Bible?     I'll  tell  you  why.     You  are  living 
in  some  one  or  more  known  sin  or  sins,  which 
sins  you  know  the  Bible  condemns,  for  which 
sins  you  know  a  man  will  be  damned  and  go 
to  hell  if  he  lives  and  dies  in  them.    Now,  you 
are  not  willing  to  quit  those  sins,  and  in  order 


124  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

to  ease  off  your  conscience  just  a  little  you 
say  that  the  Bible  is  a  lie,  and  therefore  there 
is  no  hell,  and  consequently  I  can  indulge 
myself  with  impunity.  Now,  sir,  that  is  the 
bottom  of  your  little  cheap  one-horse  infi- 
delity. And  I  will  prove  it  by  the  word  of 
Jesus  Christ.  John  3:19:  ''This  is  the  con- 
demnation, that  light  is  come  into  the  world, 
and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than  light, 
because  their  deeds  were  evil."  You  reject 
the  light  of  inspiration  because  your  deeds 
are  evil;  and  if  you  turn  the  light  of  truth 
upon  those  deeds,  that  is  at  the  bottom  of 
your  not  believing  the  Bible.  I  shall  stop 
to  make  no  defence  of  the  Bible,  no  more  than 
I  will  defend  the  sun  in  the  noonday  sky. 
God's  word  has  stood  the  storm  of  all  the 
sceptics,  and  not  one  solitary  sentence  in  that 
grand  old  ancient  document  has  ever  been 
shown  to  be  other  than  what  it  claims  to  be. 
But  says  another  man:  ''The  reason  I  am 
not  a  Christian  is  that  I  don't  understand  all 
that  is  in  the  Bible,  I  don't  understand  all 
about  Christianity,  and  now  for  me  to  accept 
something  that  I  don't  understand  would  be 
to  stultify  my  intellect,  and  therefore  I  am 
not  going  to  be  a  Christian  until  I  understand 


EXCUSES  125 

all  that  is  in  the  Bible  and  Christianity."   Now, 
that  sounds  very  intellectual  and  fine;  but, 
ah,  dear  man,  it  is  a  sophism  of  hell,  put  into 
your  head  by  the  devil.    Let  us  see  what  God 
says  about  it.     Isa.  35:8:     ''And  an  highway 
shall  be  there,  and  a  way,   and  it  shall  be 
called  the  way  of  holiness;  the  unclean  shall 
not  pass  over  it;  but  it  shall  be  for  those:  the 
wayfaring  men,   though  fools,   shall   not  err 
therein."    Now,  from  that  Scripture  it  isclear 
that  the  highway  of  salvation  is  so  plain,  so 
simple,  and  so  easily  found  that  an  ordinary 
fool  cannot  mistake  it.     Now,   what  about 
this  Bible?     There  are  a  great  many  things 
in  it,  and  some  of  these  things  are  very  plain 
and  simple  and  easily  understood,  those  things 
that  pertain  to  salvation.     ''Repent,   or  ye 
perish."      That    is    very    plain.      "He    that 
believeth   and   is   baptized   shall   be   saved." 
That  is  very  plain.     "He  that  believeth  not 
shall  be  damned."     That  is  very  plain,  and 
that    covers    the    whole    ground    of    Christ's 
salvation  and  eternal    perdition.     There  are 
of  sheer  necessity  some  things  in.  the  Bible 
that  cannot  be  understood.     God  is  in  the 
Bible,   and  as  I  showed  you  last  night  the 
finite  cannot  comprehend  the  infinite.    There- 


126  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

fore  there  will  always  be  in  heaven,  in  the 
Bible,  in  eternity  some  things  that  you  and  I 
and  the  tall  archangels  of  God  will  never 
understand.  We  can't  understand  them.  I 
want  to  talk  to  you  just  a  little  more;  I  like 
to  find  a  man  who  is  consistent  with  himself 
and  with  God's  word.  You  are  going  to  reject 
this  Bible  because  you  don't  understand  what 
is  in  it,  and  you  don't  intend  to  stultify  your- 
self. Grant  for  an  argument  that  everything 
about  salvation  can't  be  understood. 

I  want  to  illustrate  your  inconsistency,  and 
the  sophistry  of  your  position.  Do  you  do 
that  way  about  everything  else?  Do  you 
reject  everything  outside  of  the  Bible  that 
you  don't  understand,  for  fear  of  stultifying 
yourself?  No,  sir,  you  don't,  and  I  will  prove 
it  for  you.  Did  you  eat  your  dinner  today? 
**Yes."  What  did  you  eat?  ''Some  potatoes 
and  some  turkey  and  bread  and  butter  and 
milk  and  celery  and  some  cake  and  some 
coffee."  Do  you  understand  how  your  diges- 
tive organs  took  that  dinner  and  converted  it 
first  into  chyme,  and  then  into  chyle, 
and  then  into  blood,  and  some  of  it  into 
bone,  and  some  into  muscle,  and  some  into 
nerve,  and  some  into   fibre,    and   some    into 


EXCUSES  127 

marrow,  and  some  into  hair,  and  some  into 
one  part  of  the  body  and  some  another?  Do 
you  understand  that?  No,  sir;  not  a  man  in 
this  house  understands  it;  not  one  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  thoroughly  understands  it.  Now, 
according  to  your  position  you  stultified  your- 
self when  you  ate  your  dinner  today.  I 
would  be  consistent.  I  wouldn't  eat  my  dinner 
or  my  supper  unless  I  could  understand  it; 
and  you  stick  to  your  theory  about  your  food 
and  it  will  put  you  in  the  grave;  and  you 
stick  to  your  theory  about  the  Bible  and  it 
will  put  you  in  hell  on  the  same  line. 

Again,  because  I  want  to  knock  the  bottom 
out  of  his  nonsense  about  your  stultifying 
yourself,  I  will  say:  There  is  a  beautiful 
lawn  out  there,  and  a  flock  of  geese  on  it,  and 
a  herd  of  cattle,  and  a  drove  of  sheep.  When 
the  sheep  eat  the  grass  it  makes  wool.  Do  you 
understand  how  the  grass  makes  wool?  No, 
sir,  you  can't  understand  it  to  save  your  life. 
Is  that  any  argument  against  wearing  a  good 
heavy  woolen  overcoat  one  of  these  cold  days? 
No,  sir,  but  you  stultify  yourself  every  time 
you  do  it,  according  to  your  theory.  When 
the  cow  eats  the  grass  it  makes  hair  instead 
of  wool.     Do  you  understand  that?     No,  sir. 


128  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Is  that  any  argument  against  your  eating  a 
good  beefsteak?  But  every  time  you  eat 
it  you  stultify  yourself,  according  to  your 
theory.  When  the  geese  eat  grass  it  makes 
feathers.  Do  you  understand  that?  No,  sir. 
Is  that  any  reason  against  sleeping  on  a  warm 
feather  bed  on  a  cold  freezing  night?  No,  sir, 
but  you  stultify  yourself  every  time  you  do 
it.  You  are  not  consistent  out  of  the  Bible, 
neither  are  you  consistent  in  the  Bible,  and 
therefore,  if  I  were  you,  I  should  lay  aside  that 
foolish,  sophistical  theory  of  yours  that  you 
would  not  accept  it  until  you  understand  it, 
because  if  you  did  you  would  stultify  yourself. 
God  does  not  propose  to  save  you  by  under- 
standing, but  by  grace  through  faith. 

I  hear  another  man  say:  ''The  reason  I 
am  not  a  Christian  is  that  it  is  a  very  difficult 
thing  to  keep  the  commandments,  to  love 
God  and  follow  the  example  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  That  is  the  reason  that  I  am 
not  a  Christian."  Let  us  see  what  God  says 
about  it.  I  will  turn  over  here  to  Matt.  11 :30 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  says  this:  "For  my  yoke 
is  easy  and  my  burden  is  light."  Therefore 
you  are  wrong.  He  says  of  the  way  of  the 
transgressor  that  that  is  hard.    Therefore  you 


EXCUSES  129 

are  incorrect  when  you  say  that  it  is  a  diffi- 
cult thing  to  be  a  Christian,  a  difficult  thing 
to  follow  Christ  and  bear  his  burdens. 

But  I  want  to  ask  you  a  question  or  two. 
Where  did  you  get  that  idea  that  it  is  a 
difficult  thing  to  be  a  Christian  and  to  serve 
God?  You  didn't  get  it  in  that  Bible.  Where 
did  you  get  it?  I'll  tell  you  where  you  got  it; 
you  got  it  from  some  of  these  old  church 
members  that  have  never  been  converted, 
trying  to  get  to  heaven  with  a  cross  under 
one  arm  and  a  barrel  of  whiskey  under  the 
other.  Now,  Til  tell  you  that  is  a  hard  thing 
to  do.  It  is  as  difficult  a  thing  to  do  as  trying 
to  get  to  heaven  with  a  prayer-book  in  one 
hand  and  a  deck  of  cards  in  the  other.  That 
is  a  hard  thing  to  do.  Some  of  these  people 
that  want  to  crowd  all  their  religion  into 
forty  days  and  do  as  they  choose  for  the  rest 
of  the  365,  instead  of  going  in  the  narrow 
path  will  be  walking  or  riding  with  the  devil's 
saints  down  the  broad  way  to  perdition. 
Christ  says:  ''Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mam- 
mon." You  can't  serve  two  masters.  That 
is  a  hard  thing  to  do,  and  that  is  where  you 
got  your  idea  of  its  being  a  hard  thing. 

But  again,  be  consistent  now.     Do  you  do 


130  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

that  way  about  everything  else  that  is  diffi- 
cult? You  don't,  and  I'll  prove  it  to  you. 
Here  is  a  man,  I'll  say  he  is  named  Jones,  and 
he  has  a  wife  and  five  or  six  children.  You 
meet  him  on  the  street  tomorrow  morning, 
and  you  say  ''Hello,  Jones;  what  is  this  I 
hear  about  you?"  ''What  did  you  hear?" 
"I  heard  that  you  had  sent  your  children 
to  the  poorhouse  and  that  you  had  sent  your 
wife  down  town  here  to  take  in  washing,  and 
that  you  were  going  to  be  a  first-class  tramp." 
"Yes,  it  is  so.  I'll  tell  you  why  it  is  so.  I 
have  been  living  here  in  South  Carolina  a 
long  time,  and  I  find  it  is  a  very  difficult 
thing  in  this  country  for  a  man  to  support  a 
wife  and  five  or  six  children,  pay  all  of  his 
debts,  and  taxes,  educate  the  children,  and 
clothe  them  and  feed  them,  and  pay  house 
rent,  and  rear  up  a  decent  and  respectable 
family,  and  it  was  such  a  difficult  thing  to 
do  I  concluded  I  would  let  my  children  go  to 
the  poorhouse,  and  my  wife  take  in  washing 
for  a  living,  and  I  would  become  a  first-class 
tramp."  But  he  is  a  philosopher  beside  of 
that  poor  dying  sinner  out  yonder  who  is 
going  to  reject  heaven  and  eternal  life  and 
salvation,   and   go  down  to  God  Almighty's 


EXCUSES  131 

poorhouse  and  spend  eternity  there  as  a 
pauper,  because,  forsooth — for  argument's 
sake  we  will  say — it  is  difficult  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian. Dear,  dying  man,  never  make  that 
excuse  again. 

But  I  hear  another  man  say:  "The  reason 
that  I  am  not  a  Christian  is,  sir,  there  are 
so  many  hypocrites  in  the  church."  Yes,  I 
knew  you  were  going  to  say  that,  you  are 
always  talking  about  those  hypocrites.  By 
their  very  existence  they  prove  the  truth  of 
Christianity.  Christ  says  he  sows  the  wheat, 
the  devil  sows  the  tares,  and  the  wheat  and  the 
tares  are  to  grow  together  until  the  end.  So, 
when  you  go  boasting  around  here  that  there 
are  some  hypocrites  in  the  church,  you  are 
simply  proving  the  truth  of  the  gospel.  In 
Rom.  14:12  we  read:  ''So  then  every  one  of 
us  shall  give  account  of  himself  to  God." 
Dear  dying  sinner,  you  had  better  be  settling 
your  account  and  preparing  to  meet  your 
God;  you  had  better  set  your  house  in  order, 
and  let  these  hypocrites  take  care  of  them- 
selves. God  will  deal  with  them.  What  kind 
of  an  account  are  you  going  to  give? 

But  this  is  a  very  common  excuse.  How 
many   of   these   church   members   are   hypo- 


132  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

crites?  I  don't  believe  that  there  are  that 
many,  but  I  will  say  for  the  sake  of  an  argu- 
ment that  nine-tenths  are  hypocrites.  That 
is  fair;  you  know  it  is.  Now,  you  are  going 
to  reject  heaven,  because  nine-tenths  of  the 
church  are  hypocrites.  Do  you  think  that 
way  about  anything  else,  about  the  ordinary 
affairs  of  life?  No,  sir.  Let  us  see.  Suppose 
I  owe  you  $100  and  you  have  my  note  for 
that  amount.  I  meet  you  on  the  street  in  the 
morning  and  I  say:  ''Here,  Jones,  I  want  to 
pay  you  that  $100  and  take  up  the  note," 
and  I  pull  out  ten  $10  bills,  and  you  turn 
them  up  in  counting  them,  and  lo  and  behold 
one  of  them  is  a  counterfeit;  would  you  just 
turn  around  and  tear  that  note  all  to  pieces, 
and  throw  them  away  and  say:  ''I  don't 
propose  to  have  any  more  notes,  or  to  take 
any  more  money;  I  never  intend  to  stick 
another  greenback  bill  into  my  pocket  while 
I  live,  while  there  is  counterfeit  money  in 
vogue.  I  am  never  going  to  take  any  green- 
backs as  long  as  there  is  any  counterfeit 
currency?"  Would  you  do  that?  You  know 
you  wouldn't.  You  would  just  make  me  take 
back  that  counterfeit  bill  and  give  you  ten 
$10  bills  that  were  good,   regardless  of  the 


EXCUSES  133 

counterfeit;  and  you  would  pay  no  attention 
to  the  counterfeit  currency.  Now,  that  would 
be  common  sense  and  business,  and  why 
don't  you  act  on  common  sense  principles? 
Here  you  are  going  to  hell  because  some  old 
hypocrite  is  going  to  hell. 

Again,  you  are  very  much  afraid  of  the 
church  and  Christianity  because  there  are 
hypocrites  in  it;  but  I  am  going  to  stick  to 
the  Bible  and  the  church  and  Christianity, 
without  regard  to  the  hypocrites,  and  if  the 
devil  were  to  join  the  church,  I  am  going  to 
stay  there.  Let  us  see  which  way  is  the  best. 
You  won't  be  a  Christian  because  there  are 
hypocrites  in  the  church.  Now,  what  will 
be  the  end  of  the  whole  matter?  Where  will 
the  hypocrites  go?  All  go  to  hell.  Where  will 
you  go  if  you  don't  become  a  Christian?  You 
will  go  to  hell  too.  If  I  am  an  earnest,  true 
child  of  God  I  will  go  to  heaven,  thank  God, 
where  there  is  not  a  single,  solitary  hypocrite; 
I  will  spend  ten,  fifteen,  thirty  or  forty  years 
in  the  church,  where  there  are  a  great  many 
hypocrites,  and  then  I  will  die  and  go  to 
heaven,  where  I  will  never  see  another.  But 
you  won't  have  anything  to  do  with  the 
church  for  ten,  twenty  or  forty  years  because 


134  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

there  are  hypocrites  in  it,  and  then  you  will 
go  to  hell  and  spend  eternity  with  the  hypo- 
crites, all  of  them,  from  Judas  Iscariot  down 
through  all  the  ages  of  the  world.  I'll  take 
the  hypocrites  here. 

But,  again,  you  don't  seem  to  see  the 
shrewdness  of  the  devil  in  this  matter.  Sev- 
eral years  ago  I  read  an  article  in  Scribner's 
Magazine  about  how  men  killed  wild  geese 
in  the  far  west,  and  when  I  went  evangelizing 
out  there  I  inquired  and  found  out  it  was 
done  just  in  this  way:  A  man  w^ill  go  out  in 
the  plains  in  California  or  Colorado  and  he 
will  take  along  with  him  a  decoy  goose,  which 
looks  exactly  like  a  goose,  and  you  couldn't 
tell  to  save  your  life  whether  or  not  it  was  a 
goose  if  you  looked  at  it  from  a  short  distance, 
and  he  will  go  in  a  wheat  field  and  stick  that 
decoy  goose  about  here;  then  he  will  go  about 
40  steps  and  dig  a  hole  in  the  ground,  and  he 
gets  in  that  hole  with  a  good  breech-loader 
and  plenty  of  shells,  loaded,  and  the  flocks  of 
geese  come  sailing  along  over  him,  and  gazing 
down  they  see  the  decoy  goose.  So  they 
drop  down  around  him,  and  he  seems  to  be 
a  queer  looking  goose,  and  their  whole  atten- 
tion is  rivetted  on  the  decoy,  and  while  they 


EXCUSES  135 

are  taking  in  the  decoy,  the  man  in  the  hole 
with  the  shotgun  is  taking  them  in;  he  bags 
the  geese,  and  they  never  see  the  point  till 
they  are  dead. 

That  is  just  exactly  the  way  the  devil  hunts 
souls.  The  Bible  says  he  goes  about  as  a 
roaring  lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour. 
What  does  he  do?  Here  is  one  of  the  favorite 
schemes  of  the  devil,  and  he  w^orks  it  for  all 
he  is  worth.  He  likes  to  go  into  a  church  or 
community  or  city  and  get  some  poor,  old, 
broken-down  decoy  of  a  Christian,  that  never 
was  anything  but  an  old  hypocritical  church 
member,  just  one  of  the  old  decoys,  or  an 
old,  broken-down  Sunday-school  superinten- 
dent, if  he  can,  and  run  him  up  there  con- 
spicuous in  the  community  and  the  church, 
and  get  the  eyes  of  the  poor  sinners  in  the 
community  to  looking  at  that  old  decoy 
church  member,  and  they  are  gazing  at  him, 
and  talking  and  soliloquizing  about  him  and 
pooh-poohing  Christianity  and  the  church  and 
all  that  kind  of  thing  and  the  poor,  deluded 
simpletons,  while  their  time  is  occupied  with 
the  decoy  church  member,  the  devil  is  getting 
in  his  work,  and  after  a  while  he  gets  his  trap 
set  and  down  into  hell's  dead-fall   he  ^oes. 


136  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Can't  you   see   the   game   that   the   devil   is 
playing  with  you? 

I  can  hear  another  man  say:  ''The  reason 
I  don't  become  a  Christian  is  that  there  are 
too  many  churches.  Here  is  the  Methodist 
and  the  Baptist  and  the  Presbyterian  and 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  and  the  Episco- 
palian and  the  Catholic  and  the  Lutheran 
and  the  Associate  Reformed,  and  so  many 
others,  and  one  says  'we  are  right'  and  the 
other,  'we  are  right,'  and,"  says  the  man, 
"until  they  can  settle  among  themselves  which 
is  right,  how  am  I  going  to  settle  it?  And  if  they 
can't  settle  who  is  right  among  themselves, 
I  reckon  an  outsider  had  better  have  nothing 
to  do  with  it.  Hear  what  God  says,  I  Tim. 
2 :5 :  "For  there  is  one  God,  and  one  mediator 
between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ 
Jesus."  What  is  the  mistake  you  are  making? 
You  are  looking  to  this  church,  that  church, 
or  the  other  church  as  the  mediator  between 
you  and  God.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  mediator 
between  you  and  God.  Then  don't  put  your 
faith  in  this  church,  that  church,  or  any  other 
church,  but  put  your  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 
the  son  of  God  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 
There  is  not  as  much  difference  between  these 


EXCUSES  137 

churches  as  you  think  there  is.  We  have  our 
different  notions  about  the  modes  of  baptism, 
and  about  the  ordinances,  rites  and  ceremon- 
ies, and  church  poHcy,  etc.,  but  what  is  that? 
The  fact  is  that  we  all  believe  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  and  the  only  Saviour 
of  the  lost  world ;  we  will  shake  hands  on  that 
proposition  and  we  will  lock  our  shields  around 
the  cross  on  that  great  central,  fundamental 
truth. 

Now,  I  want  to  illustrate  the  utter  folly 
there  is  in  your  always  looking  to  these 
different  churches  instead  of  looking  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Suppose  that  that  hotel 
down  yonder  is  on  fire;  it  is  three  stories 
high.  Here  are  five  or  six  hook  and  ladder 
companies,  one  using  red  ladders,  another 
white,  another  black,  and  another  barber  pole 
ladders,  and  so  on,  a  great  variety.  They  are 
all  ladders  and  all  good  ladders,  but  differ 
a  little  in  the  way  they  are  painted.  But  there 
is  right  sharp  competition  between  the  ladder 
companies.  There  is  a  man  sleeping  in  the 
third  story  of  the  hotel.  Now,  in  the  dead 
of  night  the  fire  breaks  out  and  burns  the 
lower  floor  and  the  second  floor  and  the 
stairway;  the  fire-bell  rings  and  each  company 


138  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

runs  up  its  ladders,  one  here,  another  there, 
and  so  on.  And  about  that  time  the  chief 
of  each  one  of  the  companies  goes  out  yonder 
and  begins  to  halloo:  ''Fire,  fire!  Here  man, 
down 'this  ladder."  "Here,"  "Here,"  "Down 
this  ladder."  And  about  that  time  the  man, 
half  frightened  and  half  asleep,  wakes  up  and 
sticks  his  head  out  of  the  window  and  says: 
"Which  one  is  the  best  ladder-company?" 
Now,  the  thing  that  man  needs  is  not  a  ladder- 
company.  It  is  a  ladder.  All  the  ladder- 
companies  in  town  can't  save  him;  he  needs  a 
ladder.  And  they  don't  say:  "Come  to  this 
ladder-company,"  or  "come  to  that  ladder- 
company."  They  say:  "Come  to  this  lad- 
der," or  "Come  to  that  ladder." 

Just  so,  here  you  are,  sinner,  as  the  Bible 
says,  right  over  hell,  and  the  flames  of  hell 
rise  to  meet  you.  Here  are  the  Methodist 
hallooing  fire,  and  the  Baptists  and  the  Pres- 
byterians and  the  Episcopalians,  all  hallooing 
fire.  Here  is  a  poor,  dying,  guilty,  lost  sinner, 
who  wakes  up  and  says:  "Which  one  of 
these  churches  is  the  most  orthodox?"  It  is 
not  orthodoxy  you  need.  You  may  go  to 
hell  and  be  orthodox.  It  is  not  a  church  you 
need;  it  is  a  Saviour,  the  Son  of  God.     Then, 


EXCUSES  139 

you  come  to  Christ,  accept  him  and  be  saved; 
then  go  and  join  any  church  you  choose. 
Any  of  them  is  good  enough  for  you  to  go  to 
heaven  in.  Any  of  them  you  can  go  to  hell 
in.  You  must  be  born  again,  or  you  cannot 
see  the  kingdom  of  God,  in  the  church  or  out 
of  the  church. 

I  hear  another  man  say:  'That  is  not  my 
trouble.  The  reason  I  can't  become  a  Chris- 
tian is  that  God  foreknows  my  destiny.  He 
knew  when  I  was  born  whether  I  was  going 
to  heaven  or  to  hell.  If  He  knows  I  am  going 
to  hell,  I  have  got  to  go  to  hell,  and  there  is 
no  use  to  be  in  any  hurry  about  it.  If  He 
knows  I  am  going  to  heaven  I  will  sit  down 
and  wait  God's  good  time."  I  don't  care  to 
be  metaphysical  or  theological,  but  I  want 
to  take  the  broad-axe  of  good,  hard  common 
sense  and  cut  that  knot  in  the  middle.  It 
is  nothing  but  a  metaphysical  puzzle  that  the 
devil  has  got  up  to  get  souls  befogged  by, 
and  lead  them  into  the  labyrinth  of  unbelief, 
and  lead  them  down  to  hell.  II  Cor.  6:2: 
"Now  is  the  day  of  salvation."  Isa.  55:7: 
''Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the 
unrighteous  man  his  thoughts;  and  let  him 
return  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy 


140  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

upon  him;  and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abun- 
dantly pardon."  Now,  you  see,  that  pardon 
is  based  on  whether  or  not  you  come  to  God; 
but  you  are  basing  it  on  whether  God  knows 
3^ou  are  going  to  come  or  not.  God  knows 
whether  you  are  going  to  come,  or  not.  He 
wouldn't  be  a  God  if  He  didn't.  God  knows 
everything;  but  because  He  knows  it  does  not 
follow  that  His  knowledge  or  that  His  fore- 
knowledge makes  you  go  to  heaven  or  makes 
you  go  to  hell.  I  know  the  sun  is  going  to 
rise  in  the  morning,  but  my  knowledge  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  God  knows  whether 
I  am  going  to  hell  or  to  heaven,  but  that  does 
not  make  me  go.  If  I  receive  His  Son  I  will 
go  to  heaven;  if  I  reject  His  Son  I  will  go  to 
hell.  I  want  to  give  you  an  illustration,  and 
then  you  will  get  it. 

I  will  make  the  illustration  as  plain  and 
clear  as  I  can,  for  this  is  a  very  metaphysical, 
theological,  puzzling  affair.  Suppose  that  four 
or  five  miles  down  this  Reedy  River  here  there 
lived  a  man  who  has  five  or  six  sons.  He  has  a 
splendid  farm,  is  a  first-rate  farmer,  has  five 
or  six  good  horses  and  mxules,  and  four  or 
five  or  six  boys  large  enough  to  plough.  Now, 
didn't  God  know  the  first  day  of  Jan.,  1888, 


EXCUSES  141 

just  how  much  corn,  how  many  grains  and 
bushels  and  barrels  that  man  was  going  to 
make?  O,  yes,  certainly  God  knew  that. 
Tomorrow  this  man,  whom  we  will  call  Jones, 
comes  to  town.  I  meet  him  on  the  street, 
and  he  has  got  a  very  long  face.  ''Mr.  Jones, 
what  is  the  matter  with  you?"  ''I  am  in 
great  trouble.  I  have  got  no  bread  in  my 
house,  and  no  corn.  I  am  out."  ''Why,  are 
you  not  a  farmer  down  here?"  "Yes,  sir." 
"And  you  have  got  a  good  plantation?"  "Yes." 
"And  you  have  got  four  or  five  boys  large 
enough  to  plough?"  "Yes."  "And  you  have 
got  four  or  five  good  horses  and  mules?" 
"Yes."  "Didn't  you  have  a  tolerable  good 
season?"  "Yes."  "Why  didn't  you  make  any 
corn?"  "Well,  you  see  God  knew  the  first 
day  of  Jan.,  1888,  just  how  much  corn  I  was 
going  to  make,  and  because  God  knew  how 
much  I  was  going  to  make  I  had  nothing  to 
do  with  it.  Consequently,  I  turned  the  mules 
out,  and  let  the  boys  go  fishing,  and  I  came 
to  town  and  didn't  plant  anything,  and  I 
haven't  got  anything."  Whose  fault  is  it? 
Whose  fault  is  it  that  Jones  has  not  got  any 
corn?  Is  it  because  God  knew  how  much  he 
was  going  to  make?     No,  sir;  it  is  because 


142  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Jones  was  too  abominably  lazy  to  plant  his 
own  corn,  and  yet  here  he  w^as  blowing  around 
town  that  because  God  knew  how  much  corn 
he  was  going  to  make,  therefore  he  hasn't 
got  any  corn.  It  is  a  libel  on  God  and  on 
divine  providence,  and  he  is  trying  to  palm 
off  his  indolence  on  God  and  on  God's  fore- 
knowledge. 

Just  so,  dying  sinner,  God  knew  when  you 
were  born  whether  you  were  going  to  hell  or 
to  heaven.  But  God  says:  "He  that  believeth 
and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,  and  he  that 
believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  Now,  you 
go  marching  around  here  and  say  God  knows 
whether  you  are  going  to  heaven  or  hell,  and 
you  have  got  nothing  to  do  with  it,  and  you 
will  go  to  hell.  I  know  it  and  God  know^s  it, 
and  as  to  that  metaphysical  puzzle,  that  is 
all  there  is  in  it  and  all  there  is  of  it. 

I  hear  another  man  say:  "I  would  be  a 
Christian,  but  my  reason  revolts  against 
faith."  Ah,  dying  man,  you  are  mistaken. 
It  is  not  your  reason  that  is  revolting  against 
faith;  you  haven't  got  enough  of  it.  Hear 
what  God  says,  Ps.  14:1:  'The  fool  hath 
said  in  his  heart,  there  is  no  God."  He  never 
said  it  in  his  head;  no,  it  was  in  his  heart.     It 


EXCUSES  143 

is  not  your  head  that  is  the  matter  with  you 
so  much;  it  is  your  wicked,  guilty,  depraved, 
deceitful  heart,  which  God  says  is  deceitful 
and  desperately  wicked.  Your  wicked,  de- 
praved heart  revolts  against  God  and  faith 
and  God's  plan  of  salvation.  And  now  the 
devil  comes  in  and  flatters  your  self-conceit 
and  makes  you  think  it  is  through  your 
superabundance  of  intellect  that  you  are 
rejecting  God.  That  is  a  great  mistake,  as 
sure  as  you  live.  Talk  about  reason.  Here 
is  a  poor  biped  that  can  only  see  back  to  its 
cradle  and  forward  to  its  grave,  and  its  life 
on  earth  a  mere  span,  talking  about  his 
reason  revolting  against  faith  and  God,  while 
yonder  are  the  tall  archangels  around  the 
throne,  perfectly  subordinated  to  Almighty 
God,  and  this  little  biped,  poor  little  clod  of 
clay,  tumbling  into  the  grave,  talking  about 
his  reason  revolting  against  God's  plan  of 
salvation. 

But  I  hear  another  man  say:  ''The  reason 
that  I  don't  become  a  Christian  is  I  have  not 
any  feeling  on  the  subject.  I  don't  feel  like 
it,  and  therefore  it  would  be  hypocritical  in 
me  to  try  to  become  a  Christian,  if  I  don't 
feel  like  it."     Will  you  hear  what  God  says? 


144  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

First,  however,  let  me  say  a  word  about 
feeling.  The  word  feeling  occurs  but  twice 
in  the  Bible,  and  neither  time  is  it  on  the 
subject  of  salvation.  One  time  it  is  describ- 
ing Christ,  who  can  be  touched  by  the  feeling 
of  our  infirmities,  and  the  other  time  it  is 
describing  that  sinner  who  has  gone  so  far 
across  the  boundary  line  that  he  is  past  all 
feeling — you  exactly.  Hear  what  God  says, 
Eph.  4:17,  18,  19:  'This  I  say  therefore,  and 
testify  in  the  Lord  that  ye  henceforth  walk 
not  as  other  Gentiles  walk,  in  the  vanity  of 
their  mind,  having  the  understanding  dark- 
ened, being  alienated  from  the  life  of  God 
through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them,  because 
of  the  blindness  of  their  heart;  who  being 
past  feeling  have  given  themselves  over  unto 
lasciviousness,  to  work  all  uncleanness  with 
greediness."  You  say  you  don't  become  a 
Christian  because  you  have  not  any  feeling. 
What  is  the  reason  you  have  not?  You  have 
resisted  God's  spirit  and  God's  word;  you 
have  slighted  God's  invitation,  until,  dying 
man,  you  are  past  feeling  and  given  over  to 
the  service  of  the  devil  ''with  greediness." 

Now,  there  is  a  man  out  yonder  physically 
freezing  to  death,  and  when  he  gets  so  cold 


EXCUSES  145 

he  can't  feel,  what  kind  of  a  condition  Is  he 
in?  He  is  very  near  to  death,  is  what  is  the 
matter;  the  circulation  is  about  to  stop;  feehng 
has  ceased.  Just  so,  dying  sinner,  If  you  can 
sit  under  the  preaching  of  God's  word,  and 
have  these  solemn  truths  from  God's  word 
thrown  into  your  conscience  without  feeling 
It,  I  am  afraid  you  never  will  feel  until  your 
soul  wakes  up  in  hell.  May  God  help  you. 
Get  up  a  moral  circulation  before  it  Is  eternally 
too  late. 

But  I  hear  some  other  man  say:  ''I  would 
become  a  Christian,  but  I  am  afraid  I  w^ould  be 
ridiculed;  somebody  might  laugh  at  me."  Hear 
what  God  says,  Mark  8:38:  ''Whosoever 
therefore  shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and  my 
words  in  this  adulterous  and  sinful  generation ; 
of  him  also  shall  the  Son  of  man  be  ashamed, 
when  he  cometh  in  the  glory  of  his  Father 
with  the  holy  angels."  Today,  now,  here, 
you  may  be  ashamed  to  have  that  poor,  silly, 
foolish  man  over  there  ridicule  you;  you  may 
be  ashamed  of  that.  But  w^hen  you  see  the 
Son  of  God  coming  in  the  clouds,  with  a 
rainbow  about  him,  and  the  armies  of  heaven 
on  the  white  horses,  as  they  follow,  praising 
him  as  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  the 


146  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Prince  of  Peace,  and  the  faithful  Son  of  God, 
who  will  care  then  for  the  sneers  and  the 
scorn  and  the  ridicule  of  these  poor  clods  of 
clay,  sinking  down  into  their  graves.  Let 
them  ridicule;  who  cares?  It  amounts  to 
no  more  than  the  croaking  of  a  frog  out  there 
in  the  yard.  I  would  pay  no  attention  to 
that. 

Here  is  a  man  who  says :  "I  would  become  a 
Christian,  but  I  am  afraid  it  would  injure  my 
business."  Hear  what  God  says,  Matt.  16:26: 
"For  what  is  a  man  profited  if  he  gain  the 
whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul."  Now, 
then  there  is  one  thing  that  is  more  important 
than  your  business,  and  that  thing  is  the 
salvation  of  your  immortal  soul.  God  is  first 
and  business  next.  But  let  us  look  at  that  a 
little.  If  your  business  is  right  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  beneficial  to  mankind,  pure  religion 
w^ill  not  interfere  with  it;  if  it  is  wrong  it 
ought  to  be  interfered  with,  and  pure  religion 
will  interfere  with  it.  For  instance  if  you  are 
a  member  of  God's  church,  and  rent  your 
houses  to  men  to  sell  whiskey  in,  I  will  tell 
you  a  case  of  pure,  good,  old-fashioned  Holy 
Ghost  religion  would  interfere  with  your  busi- 
ness right  sharply.     If  you  are  renting  some 


EXCUSES  147 

little  shanties  around  town  here  to  fallen 
women  to  run  houses  of  infamy,  and  calling 
yourself  a  saint,  religion  will  interfere  w^ith 
your  business  right  smart.  If  you  are  a 
gambler,  making  your  living  by  getting  money 
without  giving  value  received,  religion  will 
interfere  with  your  business  right  smart.  And 
if  you  are  a  whiskey  man,  selling  it  by  the 
drink  or  the  barrel,  it  matters  not,  it  will 
interfere  right  sharp  with  your  business.  Dear 
friends,  if  the  business  is  right,  Christianity 
will  not  interfere  with  it;  if  it  is  not  right, 
it  ought  to  be  interfered  with. 

I  hear  some  man  say:  "I  want  to  become 
a  Christian,  but  it  is  not  a  convenient  time, 
and  in  a  convenient  time  I  will."  Acts  24:25: 
''And  as  he  reasoned  of  righteousness,  tem- 
perance and  judgment  to  come,  Felix  trembled 
and  answ^ered:  Go  thy  way  for  this  time; 
when  I  have  a  convenient  season  I  will  call 
for  thee."  The  convenient  time  never  came, 
and  so  far  as  the  record  shows,  Felix  went  out 
from  the  preaching  of  Paul  confirmed  in  his 
sins,  and  w^as  forever  lost.  Dear  man,  you 
will  never  have  a  more  convenient  time  than 
it  is  tonight. 

But  I  hear  some  thoughtless  young  person 


148  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

up  yonder  say:  ''Well,  Mr.  Pearson,  I  would 
become  a  Christian,  but  I  can't  give  up  danc- 
ing." I  shall  not  stop  to  go  into  an  argument 
about  dancing;  all  I  have  to  say  is  this:  If 
there  is  nothing  in  you  that  is  worth  improving 
and  cultivating  except  what  little  is  in  your 
heels,  just  go  on.  I  don't  suppose  you  are 
worth  counting;  you'll  slip  into  heaven  any- 
how. 

I  hear  some  men  saying:  ''I  am  going  to 
become  a  Christian,  but  I  will  wait  till  death, 
when  I  am  on  my  dying  bed.  Then  I  am 
going  to  give  my  heart  to  God  and  repent." 
We  read  in  Luke  23 :39  to  43  inclusive  about 
two  thieves  that  were  crucified  with  Christ. 
One  of  those  thieves  died  reviling  Jesus  Christ 
and  saying:  ''If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God  save 
thyself  and  us."  The  other  one  said:  "Lord, 
remember  me  when  thou  comest  into  thy 
kingdom."  I  would  like  to  know  what  guar- 
anty you  have  by  which  you  reach  the  con- 
clusion that  when  you  come  to  die  you  will 
be  like  that  believing  thief  any  more  than  like 
that  unbelieving  thief.  Observation  and  his- 
tory prove  that  men  die  as  they  live.  While 
I  would  not  hurt  anybody's  feelings,  I  am  go- 
ing to  tell   you  the  truth:      In  God's  book 


EXCUSES  149 

there  is  but  one  case  on  record  where  a  man 
was  saved  in  the  dying  hour.  Now,  I  don't 
mean  to  say  that  there  was  but  one  man 
saved  that  way;  but  there  is  only  one  on 
record  in  God's  word.  That  proves  that 
while  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  be  saved  in 
the  dying  hour,  it  is  exceedingly  improbable 
that  he  will  be,  and  that  stands  to  common 
sense.  Man,  if  you  for  twenty,  twenty-five, 
thirty  or  forty  years,  in  your  cool,  calm  mo- 
ments and  deliberate  judgment  have  rejected 
God's  word  and  God's  Son,  resisted  God's 
spirit  and  the  overtures  of  God's  messengers, 
when  you  come  to  die  it  is  reasonable  and 
logical  that  you  will  reject  it  still.  Further- 
more, it  is  a  fact  that  any  doctor  will  tell  you, 
that  the  majority  of  the  human  race  who  die 
natural  deaths  die  in  an  unconscious  state. 
How  do  you  know  that  you  are  not  going 
to  die  in  an  unconscious  state? 

Again,  my  friend,  there  is  a  want  of  principle 
about  this  whole  thing.  I  believe  in  a  man's 
being  what  he  is  from  principle,  and  I  look 
at  the  principle  rather  than  the  want  of  it. 
Here  is  a  man  serving  the  devil,  as  long  as 
he  can,  and  living  in  sin  as  long  as  he  can, 
and   rolling  iniquity   under  his  tongue  as  a 


150  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

sweet  morsel  as  long  as  he  can;  he  has 
spent  the  prime  and  vigor  of  his  manhood  in 
prostitution  to  the  devil  and  iniquity,  and 
when  he  comes  to  die,  with  that  poor,  old, 
worm-eaten  heart,  and  that  poor  old  hollow 
soul  that  might  be  compared  to  a  squeezed 
lemon,  with  all  that  is  any  account  squeezed 
out,  he  brings  the  old  stuff  up  and  offers  it 
to  the  God  that  made  him  and  redeemicd  him 
and  preserved  him  and  asks  God  to  take  that 
and  save  him. 

I  conclude  with  this  remark:  Lay  your 
hand  on  your  heart  and  listen  to  the  words 
of  God,  and  ask  yourself  this  question:  ''Is 
my  excuse  such  an  excuse  as  satisfies  my 
judgment  and  my  heart,  and  with  which  I 
am  willing  to  go  to  the  judgment  of  the 
Almighty  God  at  the  great  day?"  If  you  can 
say  "Yes,"  I  have  no  more  to  say.  I  leave 
you  in  the  hands  of  Almighty  God.  If  you 
say  that  it  is  not,  then  as  one  who  loves  you, 
I  beg  you  in  God's  name  stay  here  to  this 
inquiry  meeting  tonight  and  let  some  Chris- 
tian read  to  you  out  of  God's  word,  and  give 
up  that  excuse,  and  accept  Christ  and  confess 
him  this  night  before  God  and  men.  Will 
you  do  it?    God  grant  that  you  may. 


RECEIVING  SINNERS, 

Jan.  18,  1889,  8  P.  M. 
"This  man  receiveth  sinners."    Luke  15:2. 

That  is,  this  man  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God, 
the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead,  the  world's 
Redeemer,  the  only  name  given  under  heaven 
among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved;  this 
man  Jesus  Christ,  what  does  he  do?  He 
receives,  he  accepts,  he  pardons,  he  forgives, 
he  saves,  whom?  Sinners,  lost  sinners,  guilty 
sinners,  condemned  sinners,  hell-going  and 
hell-deserving  sinners,  such  sinners  as  you 
and  I.  Thank  God,  Jesus  Christ  receiveth 
such. 

So  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about  Christ  re- 
ceiving sinners,  and  that  is  the  best  news  that 
you  ever  heard.  There  would  be  a  jubilee 
in  hell  if  this  text  could  be  announced  to  them. 
Dear  dying  man,  this  man  Jesus  Christ  re- 
ceiveth sinners. 

And  now  there  are  just  three  thoughts  that 
I  want  specially  to  impress  upon  you,  and  the 
first  is  this:  That  class  of  sinners  that  Jesus 
Christ  does  not  receive,  and  the  second 
thought  is:     That  class  of  sinners  that  Jesus 


152  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Christ  does  receive,  and  the  third  thought  is: 
The  way  in  which  he  receives  those  who  come 
to  him. 

Now,  for  the  first  thought:  That  class  of 
sinners  that  Jesus  Christ  does  not  receive, 
does  not  accept,  does  not  forgive,  does  not 
save.  ''What  is  that?"  says  somebody;  "I 
thought  you  said  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into 
the  world  to  save  sinners?"  So  he  did.  *'I 
thought  you  said  that  Jesus  Christ  loved  sin- 
ners?" and  so  he  does.  'T  thought  you  said 
Jesus  Christ  died  for  sinners?"  God  says  so. 
'T  thought  you  said  by  the  grace  of  God  he 
tasted  death  for  all  men?"  God  said  he  did. 
"And  now,  how  do  you  propose  to  make  one 
point  in  your  sermon  about  those  sinners 
that  Jesus  Christ  does  not  receive,  pardon, 
accept  and  save?"  Yes,  I  propose  to  do  just 
that  very  thing.  Says  some  man:  ''That  is 
news  to  me."  If  it  is,  it  is  because  you  did 
not  read  the  word  of  God,  for  it  will  tell  you 
so,  and  it  is  a  very  clean-cut  case  from  God's 
word  that  there  are  certain  kinds  of  sinners 
that  Jesus  Christ  never  has  saved,  does  not 
offer  to  save,  and  will  not  save,  and,  I  say  it 
with  all  reverence,  cannot  save.     Says  some- 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  153 

body:    "I  would  like  to  know  who  they  are/* 
Well,  you'll  soon  know. 

And  why  am  I  going  to  thrust  this  forward? 
Because  there  are  some  sinners  to  whom  I 
am  speaking,  men  and  women,  who  belong 
to  these  very  classes  that  Jesus  Christ  does 
not  save.     I  want  to  hold  God's  looking-glass 
right  up  to  your  conscience,  judgment  and 
heart  and  let  you  see  yourselves  as  God  sees 
you;  let  you  see  yourselves  as  you  are,  and 
let  you  see  what  class  you  are  in,  and  then, 
dear  dying   man   "to   him   that   knoweth  to 
do  good,  and  doeth  it  not,  it  is  sin;"  and  know- 
ing that  you  are  in  the  class  that  Jesus  Christ 
does  not  receive,  if  you  remain  in  that  after 
you  know  about  it,   then,   so  to  speak,  you 
double  your  trouble  and   add  one  hundred 
fold  to  your  condemnation  and  to  your  eternal 
perdition.     And   now,    to   the   law   and   the 
testimony.     I  am  going  to  the  Bible;  I  am 
going  to  let  the  Bible  make  every  point  that 
I  make  in  this  sermon.     Now,  let  God  point 
out  the  classes  that  Christ  says  he  cannot 
save. 

I  turn  to  John  5 :40  and  I  have  these  words 
of  the  Lord  Jesus:  "And  ye  will  not  come  to 
me   that  ye   might   have   life."      From   that 


154  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Scripture  I  make  the  point  that  Jesus  Christ 
does  not  receive,  accept,  pardon,  forgive,  nor 
save  any  unwilHng  sinner;  not  one.  Is  there  a 
sinner  here  who  is  unwilHng  to  forsake  his 
sin?  Is  there  a  sinner  here  who  is  unwilHng 
to  square,  plumb  and  regulate  his  life  by  the 
ten  commandments  and  the  sermon  on  the 
mount?  Is  there  a  man  here  who  is  unwilling 
to  take  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  his  Saviour, 
his  Lord,  his  Master,  whom  he  is  willing  to 
follow  and  willing  to  obey,  and  into  whose 
hands  he  is  willing  to  commit  his  soul?  I 
say,  if  there  is  such  an  one  here,  man  or 
woman,  I  say  to  you.  Stand  aside;  I  have  no 
gospel  for  you;  I  have  no  Christ  for  you;  I 
have  no  salvation  for  you;  I  have  no  heaven 
for  you;  no  hope  this  side  of  the  grave,  and 
no  hope  the  other  side  of  the  grave.  Why? 
Hear  what  God  says,  Josh.  24:15:  *'And  if 
it  seem  evil  unto  you  to  serve  the  Lord,  choose 
you  this  day  whom  you  will  serve."  Hence 
God  makes  it  a  matter  of  choice  with  you,  as 
to  whether  or  not  you  will  take  God  for  your 
God,  and  as  to  whether  or  not  you  will  take 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  your  Saviour. 
Hence  God  says,  *'I  have  set  life  and  death 
before  you;  choose  ye."     There  it  is,  you  are 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  155 

to  make  a  choice,  and  that  choice  involves 
your  will.  God  consults  your  agency,  and  He 
also  says,  "My  people  shall  be  a  willing  people 
in  the  day  of  my  power."  God  is  sovereign, 
God  is  supreme,  God  is  glorious  and  complete 
in  Himself.  He  is  no  pensioner  upon  your 
praise  to  add  anything  to  His  glory.  If  you 
were  blotted  out  of  existence,  it  would  not 
detract  anything  from  God's  glory.  God 
makes  it  a  matter  of  choice  with  you  whether 
you  will  glorify  Him  by  taking  Him  as 
your  God  and  your  Saviour.  If  you  are  not 
willing  to  have  God  for  your  God,  God  is 
unwilling  to  have  you  for  His  child,  unwilling 
to  have  you  for  His  subject.  God  wants 
no  slaves;  He  wants  servants,  and  willing 
servants,  hence  He  consults  your  agency. 
Hence  the  statement  :*'Ye  will  not  come  unto 
me  that  ye  might  have  life."  Sinners,  thank 
God,  the  gates  of  heaven  stand  ajar,  and 
overhead  is  written  in  letters  of  light:  * 'Who- 
soever will."  There  is  the  point,  there  is  the 
rub,  there  is  the  idea.  "Whosoever  will  let 
him  come  and  take  the  water  of  life  freely." 
But  the  gates  of  hell  also  stand  ajar,  and 
for  those  who  will  not  enter  heaven's  gate, 
there  is  no  other  gate  to  enter.     Hence  the 


156  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Scripture:  ''He  that  believeth  not,  shall  be 
damned."  Which  way  will  you  go  tonight? 
Settle  this  question  now,  for  your  own  self. 
Examine  your  own  heart  very  carefully.  Are 
you  unwilling  to  give  up  your  pleasure  and 
your  fun  and  your  ideas  of  the  way  you  want 
to  live?  unwilling  to  submit  your  will  to  God's 
will?  Then,  dear  dying  man,  you  belong  to 
that  class  that  Jesus  Christ  never  has  saved. 
He  never  has  saved  an  unwilling  sinner,  he 
does  not  propose  to  save  an  unwilling  sinner, 
and  he  never  will  save  them. 

Now,  there  are  just  one  or  two  things: 
You  must  change  your  will  on  that  question, 
you  must  get  out  of  that  class,  or  you  will 
die  in  your  sins,  and  you  will  go  down  to 
death  and  eternal  perdition.  Do  you  know 
what  God  says  about  "after  a  while?"  There 
is  a  time  coming  when  you  will  want  to  be 
saved;  then  shall  they  call  upon  me,  but  I 
will  not  listen;  they  wall  seek  me  early,  but 
I  will  not  be  found.  Now  God  wants  you 
to  be  saved,  God  wishes  your  salvation.  He 
says  He  desires  not  the  death  of  any,  wills 
not  the  death  of  any,  but  that  all  men  shall 
come  and  be  saved.  But  you  say:  "I  w^on't 
do  it,  I  won't  take  Jesus  Christ,  I  am  going 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  157 

to  do  as  I  please,  I  am  going  to  live  as  I 
lived.  I  won't  do  it."  God  leaves  you  to 
your  doom,  and  after  a  while  when  God's 
high  sheriff  lays  his  hand  on  your  throat  and 
says:  "Come  to  the  judgment,"  then  you 
will  begin  to  cry  and  to  pray:  *'Ah,  God, 
save  me.  O  God,  have  mercy  on  my  soul." 
God  says:  *'I  will  not  hear  you."  You  had 
better  heed  that  book  when  it  says,  Isa. 
55:6:  ''Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  be 
found,  call  ye  upon  him  while  he  is  near." 
Then,  unwilling  one,  I  leave  you  standing 
outside  of  the  pale  of  the  gospel,  and  w^e  go 
on  to  the  next  class. 

John  8 :24  we  have  these  words  of  the  Lord 
Jesus:  ''I  said  therefore  unto  you,  that  ye 
shall  die  in  your  sins:  for  if  ye  believe  not 
that  I  am  he,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins." 
From  that  Scripture  I  make  the  point  that 
Jesus  Christ  does  not  save  any  unbelieving 
sinner.  Did  you  hear  that?  Say  what  you 
please  about  it,  God's  plan  is  faith  and  sal- 
vation, unbelief  and  damnation.  Now,  is 
there  a  man  here  who  says:  '*I  do  not  believe 
in  hell,  in  the  Bible,  in  a  future  state,  in 
immortality?"  That  is  neither  here  nor  there, 
a   very   small   matter   what   you   believe,    or 


158  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

what  I  believe.  What  does  God  say?  He 
says:  If  you  do  not  beHeve  you  will  be  damn- 
ed; God  says:  If  you  do  not  believe  you  will 
die  in  your  sins.  Wherefore,  if  you  do  not 
believe,  dear  man,  you  can  stand  aside;  there 
is  no  gospel  for  you,  no  salvation  for  you,  no 
heaven,  no  eternal  life,  for  you.  I  hear  some 
man  say:  "Look  here,  Pearson,  do  you  mean 
to  say  that  if  I  don't  have  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  that  I  am  to  go  to  hell  right  along 
with  that  cut-throat,  and  that  murderer,  and 
that  seducer,  and  that  man  guilty  of  perjury, 
and  that  other  man  guilty  of  arson?"  Yes, 
I  mean  just  exactly  that.  That  unbelief 
that  rejects  Jesus  Christ  will  land  you  in  hell 
just  the  same  as  murder,  perjury,  seduction, 
arson,  or  any  of  those  sins.  ''Well,"  says 
the  man,  ''that  don't  look  to  me  like  justice. 
It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  no  comparison 
under  heaven  between  unbelief  and  perjury, 
murder,  seduction  or  arson."  And  why  is 
it  that  you  don't  see  that?  You  have  never 
gone  to  the  root  of  the  business,  and  never 
looked  at  it  in  its  true  light.  This  unbelief 
is  an  unseen  thing,  a  sin  way  down  here  in 
the  heart,  whereas  murder,  arson,  perjury, 
seduction  are  visible  sins,  you  can  see  those; 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  159 

you  can  take  them  in  in  their  terrible  magni- 
tude, and  consequently  they  make  a  great 
impression  upon  you,  while  unbelief  makes 
none  at  all.  And  yet  unbelief  is  at  the  very 
bottom  of  the  business,  at  the  very  bottom 
of  all  these  things  we  are  talking  about.  May 
I  give  you  a  very  practical  illustration,  so 
practical  that  there  is  not  a  colored  man  in 
that  gallery,  nor  a  white  man,  so  ignorant 
that  he  cannot  see  the  point? 

See  that  woodman,  as  he  cuts  down  that 
willow  tree  on  the  branch  down  yonder.  Next 
spring  you  will  see  a  great  many  sprouts 
coming  up  around  that  old  stump,  and  run- 
ning about  it.  You  will  see  the  sprouts,  and 
that  makes  a  great  impression  on  you,  but 
you  don't  see  what  produces  them.  It  is 
the  old  tap-root  of  the  willow,  that  is  way 
down  in  the  sand,  that  was  not  cut  up  nor 
down  either.  What  are  the  sprouts  that  are 
out-cropping,  uprising,  springing  up  from  the 
old  tap-root  that  is  out  of  sight?  What  are 
murder,  perjury,  arson,  seduction,  all  of  those 
things?  They  are  simply  the  outcroppings, 
the  uprisings,  the  sprouts  from  this  old  tap- 
root of  unbelief  that  lurks  down  deep  in 
the  human  heart.    Now,  you  see  these  things, 


160  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

you  don't  see  unbelief;  hence  you  think  that 
they  are  greater  things  than  unbeHef,  whereas 
unbeHef  is  greater  than  the  whole  of  them, 
because  it  is  at  the  very  bottom  of  them.  It 
is  the  tap-root,  as  I  said,  of  the  whole  busi- 
ness. 

And  now  to  prove  that  this  theory  and 
this  illustration  are  strictly  correct  I  will  ask 
w^hy  didn't  Christ  say  he  that  commits  mur- 
der shall  be  damned,  or  he  that  commits 
perjury  shall  be  damned?  But  Christ,  the 
great  Teacher,  who  came  from  God  and  who 
goes  to  the  centre  and  the  bottom  of  things, 
said  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned. 
He  probed  the  centre,  and  that  is  the  bottom 
and  the  centre  of  all  of  them. 

Now,  this  abominable  tap-root  of  unbelief 
is  in  all  of  you.  You  are  boasting  around  here 
that  you  are  not  a  murderer.  How  much 
would  it  take  to  make  you  one?  Just  a 
sufficient  provocation.  You  are  boasting 
around  here  that  you  have  not  done  this, 
that  and  the  other.  What  is  the  reason? 
Perhaps  the  pressure  has  not  been  heavy 
enough.  The  cause  is  there,  the  old  tap-root 
is  there,  and  you  produce  the  necessary  occa- 
sion, and  these  sprouts  will  come  every  time. 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  161 

But  you  have  not  taken  in  the  turpitude  of 
this  sin  of  unbeHef.  What  is  it?  Now,  we 
don't  want  any  theological  technicalities.  I 
despise  technicalities.  Sometimes  I  call  in 
a  doctor  when  I  am  sick  and  I  ask  him  what 
is  the  matter  with  m,e  and  he  springs  out  a 
long  string  of  technicalities  as  long  as  my 
arm.  I  despise  that.  We  don't  want  any 
theological  technicalities  either.  So  let  us 
come  down  to  plain,  common  sense  facts,  that 
you  can  all  take  in.  What  is  this  sin  of 
unbelief?  It  is  like  a  man  standing  out  here 
on  this  platform  and  saying:  ''O  God,  if 
there  be  a  God,  your  Bible  is  a  lie.  Your  Son 
is  a  fraud,  your  Christianity  is  a  farce.  Your 
heaven  is  a  chimera,  Your  hell  is  a  dream, 
the  whole  thing  is  a  fiction.  I  repudiate  the 
whole  business."  Dear  dying  man,  that  is 
unbelief,  and  that  is  giving  God  the  lie  to  His 
face.  Hence  God  says:  ''If  we  believe  not 
the  record" — and  here  it  is — ''that  God  gave 
of  His  Son,  we  make  God  a  liar."  Dear 
dying  clods  of  clay,  let  me  say  to  you  as  God's 
ambassador,  you  give  God  the  lie  with  your 
unbelief,  and  He  will  shut  you  up  in  hell, 
and  He  w411  keep  you  there.  The  sin  of 
unbelief  is  the  horrible,  deadly  upas-tree  that 


162  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

towers  high  in  the  dark  forest  of  perdition. 
There  is  no  greater  sinner  on  God's  earth 
than  the  man  who  by  his  unbeHef  says  that 
God  is  a  He,  the  Bible  is  a  fiction  and  God's 
Son  is  a  fraud.  Talk  about  your  going  to 
heaven  in  that  fix  or  with  that  spirit.  Talk 
about  your  going  to  heaven  entertaining  such 
a  feeling  as  that;  talk  about  your  not  deserv- 
ing to  go  to  hell  with  that  murderer  and  cut- 
throat. Hence  the  word  of  God:  ''He  that 
believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  Do  you 
belong  to  that  class?  I  will  leave  you,  outside 
the  pale  of  the  gospel,  and  go  on  to  another. 
Luke  13:3  we  have  these  words  of  the  Lord 
Jesus:  ''I  tell  you  nay;  but  except  ye  repent, 
ye  shall  all  likewise  perish."  From  that 
Scripture  I  make  the  point  that  Christ  does 
not  receive,  or  save,  any  impenitent  sinner. 
Not  one.  I  am  not  going  to  discuss  repent- 
ance. I  will  do  that  in  a  sermon  one  night 
next  week.  I  want  to  talk  to  you  just  a  little 
about  impenitence,  the  opposite  of  repentance. 
You  think  repentance  is  an  old,  exploded 
theory,  but  it  is  not.  Impenitence  is  some- 
thing like  unbelief;  it  is  like  a  man  stepping 
out  here  and  saying:  ''O,  God,  I  believe  you 
exist.     I  have  violated  every  command  in  the 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  163 

decalogue;  I  have  desecrated  the  Sabbath;  I 
have  rejected  Your  Son;  I  have  trampled 
his  blood  under  my  feet ;  I  have  spurned  Your 
love,  resisted  Your  Spirit,  rebelled  against 
Your  government,  slighted  Your  authority; 
and  now,  great  God,  I  don't  care  if  I  have." 
That  is  what  impenitence  is;  it  is  trampling 
God's  Son  under  your  feet,  and  telling  God 
you  don't  care  if  you  do;  profaning  God's 
name,  and  telling  Him  you  don't  care  if  you 
do;  desecrating  His  Sabbath,  and  saying:  '*I 
don't  care  if  I  do."  It  is  adding  insult  to 
injury.  Now,  talk  about  a  man  going  to 
heaven,  and  being  pardoned  and  being  saved, 
who  has  added  insult  to  injury,  who  is  insult- 
ing God  and  then  having  the  audacity  to 
tell  Him  he  does  not  care  if  he  does;  who  is 
spurning  His  love,  and  then  saying:  '*I  don't 
care  if  I  do."  Talk  about  that  man  going 
to  heaven;  your  very  common  sense  forbids 
it,  as  well  as  God  Almighty's  word.  Jesus 
Christ  puts  it  right:  'T  tell  you  nay;  except 
you  repent,  except  you  get  out  of  that  frame 
of  mind,  since  you  are  in  that  frame  of  mind 
that  you  have  sinned  and  don't  care  if  you 
do  sin,  you  will  perish."  Repentance  is  not 
an   exploded   theory;    it    is    a  very   philoso- 


164  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

phical,  psychological  fact,  that  lies  at  the  very 
basis  of  this  whole  business.  You  must  repent 
or  be  eternally  lost. 

Then,  you  men  that  profane  God's  name, 
and  don't  care  if  you  do,  stand  aside;  you  men 
that  get  drunk,  and  don't  care  if  you  do, 
stand  aside;  you  devotees  of  fashion  and 
pleasure  and  your  own  amusement  and  your 
own  sweet  will  and  your  own  gratification, 
who  don't  care  if  you  do,  stand  aside.  There 
is  no  salvation  for  you;  Christ  received  no 
such. 

I  Kings  18:21 :  ''How  long  halt  ye  between 
two  opinions?  If  the  Lord  be  God,  follow 
him;  but  if  Baal,  then  follow  him."  You 
see,  the  argument  why  you  should  serve  God 
is  based  upon  what  God  is;  if  God  be  God,  He 
ought  to  be  served;  how  long  halt  ye  about 
whether  or  not  He  is  God?  How  long  halt 
ye  about  whether  or  not  He  ought  to  be 
served?  From  that  Scripture  I  make  the 
point  that  Jesus  Christ  does  not  receive, 
accept,  or  save  any  of  these  halting,  double- 
minded,  vacillating  sinners,  not  one.  Some 
of  you  men  in  this  audience  and  some  of  you 
women,  have  about  this  idea:  One  time  you 
come  to  church,   and  there  is  something  in 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  165 

the  sermon  gets  hold  of  you,  and  you  say: 
''Well,  I  believe  I  will  become  a  Christian;" 
and  you  go  out,  and  some  other  influence  is 
brought  to  bear  on  you  and  you  say,  ''No, 
I  don't  believe  I  will."  And  perhaps  you  come 
to  church  next  time,  and  you  take  one  step 
in  the  right  direction,  and  then  you  go  into 
the  street,  and  some  poor  simpleton,  that 
never  had  a  first-class  thought  in  his  life, 
will  perhaps  poke  a  little  jest  at  you,  and  you 
will  go  off  and  feel  "I  don't  believe  I  will 
have  anything  to  do  with  it." 

Dear  dying  man,  I  would  look  this  question 
square  in  the  face  like  a  man,  and  I  would 
settle  this  question:  "Is  it  right  to  serve  the 
Lord  that  saved  me,  redeemed  me,  and  is 
going  to  judge  me?  If  it  is,  I  ought  to  become 
a  Christian,  and  by  God's  grace  I  will  begin 
it  here  tonight,  or  I  will  decide  it  the  other 
way.  It  is  not  worth  my  time  or  my  attention 
to  serve  God.  I  will  set  Him  aside  and  I  will 
live  as  I  live  and  go  to  hell  at  last."  Do  one 
or  the  other;  look  the  question  square  in  the 
face  and  settle  it  now,  but  don't  be  forever 
hesitating  and  halting  and  vacillating.  That 
will  never  do  you  any  good.  God  will  never 
save  you  in  that  class. 


166  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Let  me  give  you  another  illustration  of  the 
utter  nonsense  and  the  utter  uselessness  of 
this  everlasting  vacillation,  a  plain,  simple  illus- 
tration. Suppose  there  is  a  man  tomorrow 
wants  to  go  to  Washington  City.  The  train 
comes  along  here  at  the  hour,  whatever  it 
is,  and  he  is  down  there  at  the  depot.  The 
train  stops  just  a  few  minutes,  and  I  imagine 
I  see  him  go  there  and  step  up  on  the  platform 
of  the  car.  'T  believe  I'll  go  to  Washington 
City — no,  I  believe  I  won't,"  and  then  he 
turns  around  and  steps  down.  He  fools 
around  a  little — ''Well,  yes,  I  believe  I  will 
go  to  Washington  City,"  and  up  he  steps 
on  the  platform  again.  ''No,  I  don't  believe 
I  will,"  and  down  he  gets  off  the  platform. 
Now,  is  there  any  sense  in  that?  If  he  can't 
decide  whether  or  not  he  wants  to  go  to 
Washington  City,  the  schedule  will  decide  it, 
and  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  conductor 
will  halloo:  "All  aboard,"  and  the  poor, 
vacillating,  up  and  down  man,  will  be  left. 

Just  the  same  way  with  you — "Yes,  I 
believe  I  will — no,  I  believe  I  won't,"  and 
there  you  have  been,  some  of  you,  for  the 
last  25  years,  just  in  that  frame  of  mind, 
vacillating  and  vacillating.    If  you  can't  decide 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  167 

this  question,  dear  dying  man,  God's  schedule 
will  decide  it,  and  one  of  these  days  God  will 
say:  ''Thy  soul  is  required  of  thee,'"  and  then 
your  poor,  vacillating  soul  will  be  eternally 
lost.  Now,  if  you  belong  to  any  one  of  these 
classes,  I  will  leave  you  outside  the  pale  of 
the  gospel  in  the  hands  of  Almighty  God.  If 
you  belong  to  it,  get  out  of  it,  for  God  will 
never  save  you  while  you  are  in  it. 

We  now  come  to  the  second  thought,  What 
kind  of  a  sinner  does  Christ  receive?  Let 
us  look  at  the  book.  Matt.  5:6:  "Blessed 
are  they  which  hunger  and  thirst  after  right- 
eousness; for  they  shall  be  filled."  From  that 
Scripture  I  make  the  point  that  Christ  receives 
those  sinners  who  come  to  him  hungering  and 
thirsting  for  salvation,  eternal  life,  and  the 
water  of  life;  Christ  says  you  shall  be  filled. 
What  is  the  peculiarity  about  a  man  who  is 
not  thirsty?  He  cavils  a  great  deal;  the  water 
must  be  exactly  right,  and  the  dipper  or  the 
cup,  as  the  case  may  be,  must  be  exactly 
right  and  everything  must  just  suit  his  fas- 
tidious taste.  What  is  the  peculiarity  about 
a  man  when  he  is  exceedingly  thirsty?  He 
is  very  specific,  urgent,  direct;  he  is  not 
disposed  to  cavil  about  side  issues,  but  goes 


168  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

right  straight  to  the  main   point.     You  all 
know  how  true  that  is  about  natural  water; 
it  is  just  as  true  about  the  water  of  life,  and 
it  is  just  as  true  about  spiritual  things.    May 
I  give  you  a  practical  illustration  from  the 
actual  that  you  may  know  it  in  the  spiritual? 
Several  years  ago  I  was  out  here  in  Colorado 
and   I  went  up  to  Manitou   Springs,   and   I 
made  the  ascent  of  Pike's  Peak  on  the  27th 
of  July.     It  was  intensely  hot  along  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  climbing  that  mountain 
way  up  at  the  timber  line,  and  I  was  almost 
famished  for  water.     Presently  I  reached  a 
point  where  I  saw  some  indications  of  water, 
and  I  climbed  up  on  a  large  rock,  and  there 
over  the  rock,  just  a  little  lower  than  I  could 
reach  was  the  cold,  pure,   fresh  water;  and 
there  by  the  water,  within  reach,  lay  an  old 
sardine  box,  bent  and  crumbled  and  mashed 
into  every  sort  of  shape.     I  could  reach  the 
sardine  box,  and  with  it  I  could  reach  the 
water.    I  didn't  stop  to  cavil  about  the  appear- 
ance of  the  box,  or  to  say:     *'I  wonder  who 
left  this  box  here;  I  wonder  where  he  was 
going;"  I  didn't  stop  to  think  where  it  came 
from,  or  how  the  box  got    mashed.      Those 
were  side  issues  with   me,   questions  that   I 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  169 

neither  knew  nor  cared  to  solve;  I  could  get 
the  water  without  settling  those  questions; 
I  was  close  to  the  water,  I  was  in  earnest  about 
it,  and  I  was  thirsty. 

Now,  when  a  sinner  starts  to  Jesus  Christ, 
begins  to  seek  his  soul's  salvation,  whenever 
I  hear  him  begin  to  quibble  and  to  quirk, 
and  he  wants  to  know  this  and  that,  and  where 
Cain  got  his  wife,  and  how  Samson  caught 
the  300  foxes,  and  five  hundred  other  ques- 
tions that  don't  pertain  to  his  salvation,  you 
may  know  he  is  not  very  hungry  or  thirsty. 

But  when  he  lays  all  those  side-issues  aside 
and  comes  this  way:  ''Lord  Jesus,  receive  my 
soul;  O  God,  for  Christ's  sake  forgive  my 
sins;  and.  Dear  Lord,  receive  me  now,"  comes 
earnest,  straight  to  Christ,  parleying  for  noth- 
ing, asking  no  questions,  but  he  knows  God's 
will  and  with  all  his  heart  yearns  for  the 
Lord  Jesus  as  an  earnest,  anxious,  penitent 
soul,  he  will  come  over,  I  care  not  though  his 
sins  roll  as  high  as  that  Blue  Ridge  and  as 
deep  as  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin,  and  that 
sinner  who  will  come  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
will  be  received,  he  will  have  pardon,  he  will 
be  saved,  he  will  have  eternal  life. 


170  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Dear  dying  man,  are  you  in  that  class 
tonight?  If  you  are,  don't  let  the  devil  tell 
you  you  are  too  old,  or  too  bad,  or  anything. 
Come  right  along,  pleading  God's  promises, 
and  Jesus  will  save  your  soul  this  night.  I 
turn  to  Luke  18:13,  and  I  have  these  words: 
''God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner." 

From  that  Scripture  I  make  the  point  that 
Jesus  Christ  receives  that  class  of  sinners  who 
come  to  him  sorry  for  their  sins,  confessing 
their  sins,  and  casting  themselves  upon  God's 
mercy. 

The  publican,  you  know,  went  up  with  the 
Pharisee  to  the  temple  to  pray;  the  Pharisee 
stood  and  thanked  God  about  a  great  many 
things,  that  he  wasn't  like  other  people,  and 
wasn't  like  this  poor  publican;  but  the  publi- 
can stood  there  and  smote  upon  his  breast,  not 
so  much  as  lifting  his  eyes  unto  heaven,  and 
hear  what  he  says:  ''God  be  merciful  to  me, 
a  sinner."  As  much  as  to  say:  "Lord,  I 
am  a  sinner,  guilty,  wicked,  lost,  helpless, 
ruined.  O  God,  I  ask  not  for  justice;  I  plead 
no  merit,  no  righteousness;  O  Lord,  I  cast 
myself  upon  thy  mercy.  God  have  mercy 
upon  me,  a  sinner."    Now,  what?    That  man 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  171 

went  down  to  his  house  justified,  we  are 
told,  rather  than  the  other. 

Sinner,  are  you  ready  to  do  that?  Are  you 
w^iUing  to  come  to  the  Lord  Jesus  and  say 
from  the  depths  of  an  honest  heart,  Lord 
Jesus,  have  mercy  upon  me,  a  sinner?  Are 
you  wilHng  to  confess  your  sins,  to  cast  your- 
self on  God's  mercy,  and  plead  His  merit  and 
His  promise?  If  you  are,  come,  and  Jesus 
Christ's  word  for  it,  you  shall  never,  in  any 
case,  be  cast  out.  Come,  and  hear  the  Master 
saying,  I  will  give  you  rest.  That  is  the  kind 
of  a  sinner  Jesus  receives. 

But  if  you  are  like  that  Pharisee,  proud, 
self-righteous,  conceited,  self-important,  self- 
sufficient,  you  will  go  down  like  that  Pharisee, 
not  justified. 

I  will  go  a  step  further  on  this  point.  Isa. 
55:7  we  have  these  words:  ''Let  the  wicked 
forsake  his  way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his 
thoughts;  and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord, 
and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him;  and  to 
our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon." 
From  that  Scripture  I  make  this  point:  Jesus 
Christ  receives  those  sinners  who  come  to 
him,  not  only  sorry  for  their  sins  and  con- 
fessing them,  but  who  are  willing  to  forsake 


172  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

them.  There's  the  rub;  there's  the  tug  of 
war.  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way.  Sinners, 
I  know  you  want  to  go  to  heaven,  but  the 
trouble  with  some  of  you  is  that  you  want  to 
Hve  in  sin  also.  Christ  did  not  come  to  save 
people  in  sin,  but  he  came  to  save  people 
from  their  sin.  You  men  that  curse,  that 
profane  God's  holy  name,  are  you  willing  to 
forsake  it?  You  men  that  get  drunk,  are  you 
willing  to  forsake  it?  You  men  that  gamble, 
are  you  willing  to  forsake  it?  You  men  that 
tell  lies — some  of  you  do — are  you  willing 
to  quit  it?  You  men  that  cheat  your  neigh- 
bors, are  you  willing  to  quit  it?  You  men  that 
buy  cotton  futures  and  wheat  futures,  and 
lottery  tickets,  are  you  willing  to  quit  it?  You 
men  that  desecrate  God's  holy  day,  are  you 
willing  to  quit  it?  Sinners,  one  and  all,  are 
you  willing  to  forsake  your  sins?  If  you  are, 
it  matters  not  how  great  and  deep  and  nu- 
merous they  are;  God  will  pardon  and  abun- 
dantly pardon  if  you  will  forsake  them  and 
come  to  Him. 

I  hear  some  men  and  women  say:  ''I  am 
willing  to  forsake  the  bulk  of  them,  but  there 
is  just  one  I  am  not  willing  to  forsake."  Dear 
friends,  you  need  not  forsake  a  solitary  one 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  173 

unless  you  forsake  every  one.  Let  me  give  you 
an  illustration,  an  actual  case  that  occurred 
under  my  own  immediate  observation,  of 
a  man  who  was  willing  to  give  up  a  part  of 
his  sins  for  a  while,  and  never  was  saved  until 
he  was  willing  to  give  them  all  up. 

Several  years  ago  I  was  holding  a  meeting 
out  here  at  Sherman,  Texas,  and  God  was 
present  in  great  power,   and   a  great  many 
men  were  being  saved,  and  there  was  a  man 
in  that  town  by  the  name  of  Mord  Bridgers. 
He  was  a  jeweler  by  trade,  and  a  gambler  by 
profession.     He  played  for  the  money;  never 
got  drunk,  too  sharp  for  that;  had  a  cold  gray 
eye,  and  he  meant  business.     But,  somehow, 
or  other,  he  got  to  coming  to  that  meeting,  and 
he  got  more  and  more  interested.    One  night  he 
staid  to  the  inquiry  meeting,  and  I  approached 
him  and  said:     ''Mr.  Bridgers,  do  you  want 
to  be  a  Christian?"     ''Yes,   I  do,"  he  said. 
''I   would   like  to   be   a  Christian."      "Well, 
Mr.  Bridgers,  are  you  willing  to  give  up  all 
of  your  sins?"     He  looked  me  right  square  in 
the  face — "Do  you  want  me  to  tell  you  the 
truth?"     "Certainly  I  do,"  I  replied,  "I  am 
telling  you  the  truth,  and  I  want  you  to  tell 
me  the  truth."     "There  is  just  one  sin  I  am 


174  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

not  willing  to  give  up."  I  didn't  ask  him 
what  it  was,  for  I  knew  it  was  gambling,  and 
I  didn't  want  to  offend  the  man,  so  I  said: 
"There  is  just  this  about  it,  God  says:  Let 
the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  if  you  are 
not  willing  to  forsake  it,  there  is  no  pardon 
for  you.  There  is  no  use  for  me  to  waste 
time  and  breath  on  you.  You  must  fight 
that  battle  and  gain  the  victory  and  settle 
that  question  for  yourself,"  and  I  quoted  Isa. 
55:7  and  left  him.  The  next  night  my  man 
Bridgers  was  back  in  the  same  seat;  I  went  to 
him  and  said:  *'How  is  it?"  'T  never  will 
give  up  that  sin."  "Very  well.  I  repeat  what 
I  said  last  night,"  and  I  went  on.  The  next 
night  he  was  there  again;  I  w^ent  to  him  and 
said:  "How  is  it  tonight?"  "Can't  give  up 
that  sin,"  and  he  sighed  way  down  in  his 
soul;  "No,  sir,  I  can't  give  it  up."  "Very  well; 
I've  nothing  more  to  say;  you'll  have  to  give 
it  up  or  be  lost." 

The  next  night  I  w^ent  around  to  my  man 
Bridgers,  and  just  as  I  got  up  to  him  he 
squared  himself  around  on  the  seat  and  as 
the  keen  gray  eyes  filled  with  tears  he  reached 
out  that  firm  right  hand  and  grasped  mine, 
saying:     "Thank  God,  Mr.  Pearson,  it  is  all 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  175 

settled.  I  have  given  it  up,  and  I  am  saved." 
Then  he  told  me  how  it  was:  ''I  went  home 
last  night  and  my  wife  was  sitting  there  and 
I  fell  upon  my  knees  by  her  side  and  said: 
Tray  God  that  I  may  get  my  consent  to  give 
up  gambling  right  here  and  now  before  I 
get  off  my  knees.'  And,"  he  said,  ''I  did  give 
it  up,  and  God  saved  me  on  the  spot,  right 
then  and  there."  About  six  months  after- 
wards I  was  at  Sherman,  Texas,  and  stopped 
at  the  Digby  Hotel,  and  my  man  Bridgers 
was  the  first  man  that  met  me,  and  he  took 
me  by  the  hand  and  said:  'Thank  God,  it 
has  been  only  six  months  since  I  have  been 
converted,  and  they  are  worth  all  the  balance 
of  my  life.  I  never  was  a  true  man  and  never 
knew  what  happiness  was  before."  He  joined 
the  Methodist  Church  and  was  elected  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  School.  And  the 
waters  of  sorrow  rolled  over  his  soul ;  for  about 
a  year  and  a  half  after  that,  his  little  boy, 
not  more  than  six  or  seven  years  old,  was 
skating  on  the  ice,  and  it  broke  through  and 
he  was  drowned.  The  dear  man  wrote  me  a 
letter,  in  which  he  said:  ''Mr.  Pearson,  my 
darling  little  one  is  gone,  and  I  can't  bring 
him  back;  but  I  am  praying  God  to  sustain 


176  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

me  and  keep  me  in  this  way,  and  by  God's 
grace  I  will  meet  him  and  you  in  heaven." 
Friends,  that  is  what  Jesus  Christ  did  for  a 
Texas  gambler.  Men,  that  is  what  Jesus 
Christ  will  do  for  you. 

Dear  dying  sinner,  it  is  a  glorious  gospel 
that  we  preach;  it  is  a  glorious  Saviour,  the 
Son  of  God.  He  will  save  you  from  all  your 
sins,  if  you  come  to  him  willing  to  forsake 
those  sins,  and  may  God  bless  you  and  help 
you  to  do  it. 

We  now  come  to  the  last  question,  and 
just  one  point  on  that:  What  is  the  way,  or 
rather,  in  what  w^ay  does  Christ  receive  those 
who  come  to  him?  Hear  the  book,  Rom. 
10:9,  we  have  these  words:  ''That  if  thou 
shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  shalt  believe  in  thine  heart  that  God 
hath  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt 
be  saved." 

From  that  Scripture  I  make  the  point  that 
Christ  receives  those  sinners  who  come  to 
him  by  way  of  saving  faith.  Now,  I  hear 
some  man  say:  ''Brother  Pearson,  there's 
my  trouble.  I  don't  know  whether  my  faith 
is  the  right  sort  of  faith,  or  not."  Don't  you 
be  analyzing  that  faith.     There  is  just  one 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  177 

kind  of  faith;  it  is  either  faith,  or  it  is  no  faith 
at  all.  You  might  as  well  be  discussing  the 
question:  Is  that  electricity  that  is  shining 
there  on  the  street  the  right  sort  of  electricity? 
There  is  but  one  sort  of  electricity;  it  is 
either  electricity,  or  it  is  something  else.  Just 
so,  saving  faith  is  saving  faith,  and  if  it  is 
not  saving  faith,  it  is  no  faith  at  all.  Don't 
be  trying  so  much  to  analyze  yourself;  look 
away  from  yourself  and  from  your  faith,  and 
look  at  Jesus.  Get  your  eyes  fixed  on  Jesus 
and  quit  analyzing  yourself  so  much.  Remem- 
ber what  the  Saviour  says:  ' 'Faith  as  a  grain 
of  mustard  seed."  If  you  have  that  much, 
put  that  in  Jesus;  but  don't  be  trying  to 
analyze  it. 

But  I  hear  another  man  say:  ''Brother 
Pearson,  that  is  not  exactly  my  trouble.  My 
trouble  is  that  I  am  afraid  my  faith  is  not 
quite  strong  enough.  If  my  faith  was  just 
a  little  stronger,  I  think  I  would  be  saved." 
Dear  man,  you  are  not  to  be  saved  by  the 
strength  of  your  faith,  but  by  the  strength  of 
your  Saviour.  You  put  a  mustard  seed  faith 
in  an  omnipotent  Saviour,  and  you  are  saved. 
Then,  don't  put  your  faith  in  your  faith, 
but  put  your  faith  in  Christ;  it  is  not  the 


178  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

strength  of  your  faith,  but  the  strength  of 
your  Saviour. 

Now  may  I  give  you  two  illustrations,  one 
from  God's  word  and  the  other  from  actual 
life  to  show  that  it  is  not  the  strength  of  the 
faith  but  the  Saviour  that  does  the  saving? 
You  read  in  the  word  of  God  that  when  Jesus 
was  here  on  earth  on  a  certain  occasion  there 
w^as  a  great  throng  around  him,  and  in  that 
throng  there  was  one  poor,  frail,  emaciated 
woman;  I  have  always  thought  that  she  was 
a  consumptive,  and  she  elbowed  her  way 
through  the  crowd,  and  at  last  she  got  close 
enough  to  the  Saviour  to  stretch  out  that 
bony,  emaciated  hand,  and  to  touch  him; 
and  I  imagine  I  see  those  long,  thin  fingers 
reach  just  as  far  as  she  could,  and  she  could 
just  touch  the  hem  of  his  garment.  That  is 
all.  But,  friends,  it  was  not  the  strength  of 
the  touch,  it  was  the  strength  of  him  the 
hem  of  whose  garment  she  did  touch;  and  as 
that  poor  weak  soul  touched  the  body  of 
Jesus,  the  virtue  went  from  Jesus,  and  the 
woman  was  healed.  Poor,  emaciated,  weak, 
consumptive  soul,  will  you  tonight  stretch 
out  that  hand,  and  will  you  but  touch  the 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  179 

Lord    Jesus    Christ?      If   you    do,    God    will 
save  your  soul. 

Now,  for  the  illustration  from  actual  life. 
Do  you  remember  several  years  ago  when 
we  had  the  great  World's  Exposition  down 
here  in  New  Orleans,  how  that  mighty  machin- 
ery was  all  set  in  position,  and  then  the  wires 
were  all  laid,  the  wire  to  Washington  City 
and  the  special  wire  out  to  the  White  House? 
How  was  that  great  ponderous  machinery 
started?  There  in  President  Arthur's  own 
private  rooms  was  a  table,  on  which  was  a 
little  round  button,  and  that  was  connected 
with  the  special  wire,  and  that  with  the 
other  wires,  and  they  with  the  machinery. 
Then  when  the  time  came.  President  Arthur 
didn't  get  up  on  the  table  with  both  feet  and 
both  hands;  he  didn't  put  forth  his  great 
muscular  strength;  nor  was  it  necessary.  Just 
simply  one  little  finger  on  that  button,  and 
one  little  touch,  and  that  turned  on  the  elec- 
tricity, and  that  flashed  over  the  wires,  and 
the  great  ponderous  machinery  at  New 
Orleans  was  set  in  motion.  It  was  not  the 
strength  of  the  touch  that  did  it;  it  was  the 
strength  of  the  electricity  that  it  turned  on. 


180  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Here  you  are,  poor,  lost,  guilty,  ruined  soul 
and  you  come  and  touch  with  the  finger  of 
faith  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  when  you 
do  that  the  divine  light  flashes  from  the 
batteries  at  God's  right  hand,  and  down  to 
your  soul,  and  the  great  machinery  of  your 
soul  will  be  set  in  motion,  to  the  tune  of 
eternal  life  and  everlasting  redemption.  Dear 
dying  sinner,  put  your  faith  in  Christ,  and 
God  is  ready  to  save  your  soul.  Will  you 
trust  him?  Will  you  believe  in  him?  Will 
you  believe  in  him  now?  "If  thou  shalt 
confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus  and 
believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  raised  him 
from  the  dead  thou  shalt  be  saved." 

I  thank  God  for  that  verse;  it  puts  a  handle 
on  salvation  that  you  can  get  hold  of.  Just 
one  thing:  Do  you  believe  that  God  raised 
Christ  from  the  dead?  That  covers  the  whole 
ground.  If  that  is  what  God  says,  it  settles 
the  question  that  He  was  satisfied  with 
Christ's  atonement  and  death;  and  that  set- 
tles the  question  of  the  divinity  of  Christ. 
So  the  whole  thing  hinges  on  the  resurrection. 
Hence  said  the  apostle:  If  Christ  be  not 
risen,  then  our  preaching  is  vain. 

What  are  you  to  believe?     Not  a  long  set 


RECEIVING  SINNERS  181 

of  abstractions;  you  are  to  believe  in  your 
heart  from  God's  word  that  God  raised  Jesus 
Christ  from  the  dead,  and  if  you  believe  that 
God's  word  for  it,  you  shall  be  saved. 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB. 

Jan.  16th,  1889,  8  P.  M. 
"And  when  I  see  the  blood  I  will  pass  over  you."    Ex.  12:13. 

There  was  a  famine  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  the  Israelites  went  down  to  Egypt,  and 
they  sojourned  there  about  400  years.  In 
the  meantime  Joseph  died  and  Pharoah  died, 
and  there  arose  a  Pharoah  that  knew  not 
Joseph,  and  he  began  to  oppress  these  Israel- 
ites with  a  most  cruel,  galling  and  oppressive 
bondage.  These  Israelites  in  their  great  grief 
appealed  unto  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob;  and  God,  ever  mindful  of  His 
promises  and  ever  willing  to  hear  the  prayers  of 
His  people,  resolved  in  His  own  infinite  wis- 
dom that  He  would  teach  Pharoah  a  lesson, 
that  He  would  teach  His  own  people  a  great 
truth,  and  that  He  would  also  add  unto  it  the 
glorious  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God;  and  in  His 
w^isdom  He  determined  to  send  the  death  angel 
all  over  Egypt  to  slay  the  first-born  on  the 
night  of  the  fourteenth  day.  He  told  Moses 
and  the  elders  of  Israel  to  get  up  their  paschal 
lambs,  kill  them,  and  sprinkle  their  blood  on 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  183 

the  doorposts,  and  that  is  the  blood  to  which 
allusion  is  made  in  the  text  when  God  said: 
"When  I  see  the  blood  I  will  pass  over  you." 

From  the  call  of  Abraham  to  the  birth  of 
Jesus  Christ  there  is  not  in  God's  word  a 
more  interesting,  significant  and  profoundly 
instructive  incident  than  the  selection,  killing 
and  eating  of  the  paschal  lamb. 

Now,  the  question  arises:  What  is  it  that 
gives  to  this  paschal  lamb  this  depth  of 
meaning?  The  answer  is  found  in  the  fact 
that  the  paschal  lamb  was  a  type  of  Jesus 
Christ.  There  can  be  no  doubt  upon  this 
question,  for  God's  word  settles  it  very  clearly, 
and  now  I  will  quote  it. 

When  Jesus  was  on  earth  John,  pointing 
to  him,  said:  "Behold  the  lamb" — not  only 
the  lamb,  but  "the  lamb  of  God,"  in  contra- 
distinction to  those  paschal  lambs,  "behold 
the  lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world." 

Again  John  in  his  apocalyptic  vision,  point- 
ing to  that  Heavenly  Host,  says:  "These 
are  they  that  came  up  through  great  tribu- 
lation, and  washed  their  robes  in  the  blood" 
— what  blood?  "The  blood  of  the  lamb," — 
the  blood  of  the  lamb?    What  lamb?     That 


184  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world. 

Again  Paul  is  equally  explicit  and  says: 
'The  Lord,"— that  is,  the  Lord  Jesus— '* the 
Lord,  our  passover,  is  sacrificed  for  us."  There- 
fore I  have  Scriptural  authority  for  saying 
that  the  paschal  lamb  was  a  type  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Let  me  make  just  this  remark  about  types: 
No  man  has  a  right  to  say  that  anything  in 
God's  word  is  a  type  of  something  else  in 
God's  word,  unless  he  can  find  authority  for 
it  in  God's  word. 

Now,  we  wish  to  speak  of  this  paschal 
lamb  as  a  type  of  Christ,  and  there  are  just 
three  thoughts  that  I  wish  to  impress  upon 
your  minds  about  this  paschal  lamb.  The 
first  thought  is:  Its  blood;  and  the  second 
thought|is:  Its  shed  blood;  and  the  third 
thought  is:  Its  applied  blood.  Now,  let  us 
take  up  each  one  of  those  thoughts  and  look 
at  it  in  the  light  of  God's  blessed  word. 

First,  then,  the  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb. 
I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  this  general 
statement:  It  was  the  blood  of  the  paschal 
lamb  that  effected  the  deliverance  of  the 
Israelites.     From  what  did  they  need  to  be 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  185 

delivered?  From  the  stroke  of  the  death 
angel,  who  on  the  night  of  the  fourteenth  day 
was  going  to  pass  over  Egypt;  from  the  iron 
grip  of  Pharaoh;  from  the  galling,  oppressive 
bondage  of  Egypt. 

The  proposition  is  that  it  was  the  blood 
of  the  paschal  lamb  that  effected  their  deliver- 
ance. Mark  it,  it  was  not  the  fleece  of  that 
lamb,  it  was  not  the  flesh,  it  was  not  the 
spotlessness;  but  it  was  the  blood.  Hear 
what  the  text  says:  When  I  see  the  blood  I 
will  pass  over  you.  And,  mark  you,  it  was 
not  the  blood  of  something  else,  nor  was  it 
something  else  than  blood;  it  was  blood, 
specific  blood,  the  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb. 

What  do  we  learn  about  the  gospel  from 
all  that?  Let  us  make  a  little  substitution, 
which  w^e  have  got  a  right  to  make,  since  we 
saw  that  this  paschal  lamb  was  a  type  of 
Christ,  and  we  learn  this  about  the  gospel: 
That  it  is  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  that 
secures  the  deliverance  of  the  soul.  From 
what  does  the  soul  need  to  be  delivered? 
From  the  stroke  of  the  death  angel.  Hear 
what  God  says:  ''The  devil  goeth  about  as 
a  roaring  lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour." 
It  needs  to  be  delivered  from  the  guilt  of  sin. 


186  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Hear  what  God  says:  "All  have  sinned  and 
come  short  of  the  glory  of  God."  It  needs  to 
be  delivered  from  the  condemnation  of  God's 
holy  law.  Hear  what  Jesus  says:  ''He  that 
believeth  not  on  the  Son  is  condemned 
already."  It  needs  to  be  delivered  from  the 
cruel,  galling,  oppressive  bondage  of  sin.  Hear 
what  God  says:  ''Know  ye  not,  that  to 
whom  ye  yield  yourselves  servants  to  obey, 
his  servants  ye  are."  And  there  is  no  service 
that  is  such  galling  bondage  as  is  the  service 
of  sin  and  of  Satan.  Again,  your  soul  needs 
to  be  delivered  from  the  future  and  the 
eternal  consequences  of  sin.  What  are  those 
consequences?  Hear  what  God  says :  "These 
shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment." 
Now,  those  are  some  of  the  dangers  to  which 
your  soul  is  exposed.  The  proposition  is  that 
it  is  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world  that  is  to  effect 
the  deliverance  of  your  soul  from  these  dan- 
gers. Let  us  go  to  the  law  and  the  testimony, 
Lev.  17:11:  "It  is  the  blood  that  maketh  an 
atonement  for  the  soul."  What  blood?  The 
blood  of  the  Son  of  God  that  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world.  That  is  the  blood  that 
maketh  an  atonement  for  the  soul,  and  that 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  187 

is  the  only  thing  in  God's  universe  that  does 
or  can  make  an  atonement  for  the  soul. 

Now,  my  friends,  you  have  sinned,  and  you 
know  it,  and  God's  word  affirms  it.  What 
are  you  going  to  do  about  it?  There  are  just 
one  or  two  things  to  be  done.  You  are  to 
accept  this  atoning  blood,  which  God  has 
received  as  satisfying  the  demands  of  His 
law;  upon  that  you  are  to  ask  God  for  Christ's 
sake  to  forgive  your  sins,  and  on  account  of 
that  blood  have  those  sins  pardoned,  or  you 
are  to  die  in  those  sins  and  be  eternally 
damned.  There  is  no  question  of  it.  That 
is  what  faces  you  tonight.  It  is  to  accept 
the  atoning  blood  of  Christ  and  be  saved 
from  your  sin,  or  to  reject  the  atoning  blood 
of  Christ  and  die  in  your  sin. 

A  step  further.  1  John  1:7  we  have  these 
words:  ''The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  That  is  what  God 
says  about  it.  Dear  man,  what  does  God  say 
about  your  heart?  He  says  it  is  comparable 
to  a  cage  of  unclean  birds;  He  says  it  is  deceit- 
ful and  desperately  wicked;  He  says  that  out 
of  it  proceed  *'evil  thoughts,  adulteries,  forni- 
cations, murders,  thefts,"  and  so  on.  That 
soul   of   yours   is   therefore   sin-stained,    sin- 


188  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

polluted  and  sin-defiled.  No  soul  in  such  a 
state  as  that  can  enter  God's  heaven.  How 
are  you  going  to  cleanse  it?  It  is  the  blood 
that  cleanses  it  and  alone  can  cleanse  it  from 
all  sin.  Therefore,  you  are  to  accept  this 
blood  of  Christ  and  have  your  sin  washed 
away  in  that  blood  and  your  soul  cleansed 
by  that  blood,  or  you  are  to  die  in  your 
guilt,  and  where  God  and  His  Christ  are  you 
can  never  be.  Like  Lady  Macbeth  you  may 
dip  your  hand  in  the  water,  and  you  may  rub 
and  you  may  rub,  but,  dying  man,  water 
will  not  put  out  the  crimson  stain  of  guilt. 
There  is  only  one  thing  in  God's  universe 
that  will  wash  out  the  crimson  stain  of  guilt 
from  your  soul,  and  that  is  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Therefore,  you  are  by  faith  to  accept  the 
Son  of  God  and  be  cleansed  by  his  blood,  or 
die  in  your  sin  and  be  eternally  damned.  Oh, 
dying  man,  how  can  you  think  about  that? 

But  again  in  Rom.  5:8,  9,  we  have  these 
words:  "But  God  commendeth  his  love 
toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners, 
Christ  died  for  us.  Much  more  then,  being 
now  justified  by  his  blood,  we  shall  be  saved 
from  wrath  through  him."     Now,  the  blood 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  189 

of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  basis  upon  which  God 
can  be  just  and  the  justifier  of  the  guilty 
sinner.  You  are  guilty;  you  know  it  and  I 
know  it  and  God's  word  affirms  it.  What 
are  you  going  to  do  about  it?  You  are  either 
on  the  basis  of  the  shed  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  you  are  accepting  that  blood  to  be  justi- 
fied by  Almighty  God,  i.  e.,  cleared  and 
acquitted  from  your  sin,  or  you  are  to  die 
in  that  guilt  and  condemnation  in  which  you 
are  tonight  existing  and  be  eternally  lost. 
That  is  God's  word  and  there  is  no  alterna- 
tive; one  or  the  other  of  these  things  must 
occur. 

But  I  will  go  a  step  further,  Rom.  3:25: 
''A  propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood,  to 
declare  his  righteousness,  for  the  remission 
of  sins  that  are  past."  Those  men  that  lived 
before  Christ  died  looked  forward  to  the 
cross  just  as  we  who  lived  since  Christ  died 
look  backward  to  the  cross;  but  in  either  case 
it  was  the  blood,  and  faith  in  the  blood  that 
secured  the  remission  of  our  sins.  Now,  you 
have  sinned;  you  have  been  sinning  for  the 
last  fifteen,  twenty,  thirty,  or  forty  years. 
There  stands  the  long,  dark  catalogue  of  your 
past   sins  recorded  against  you.     What  are 


190  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

you  going  to  do  about  them?  Are  you 
going  into  eternity  with  them?  If  you  do 
you  are  damned.  What  are  you  going  to 
do  about  it?  I  hear  some  man  say:  ''I 
will  turn  over  a  new  leaf."  I  expect  it 
needs  turning  over;  God  knows  it  is  soiled 
enough  and  dirty  enough.  '*I  am  going  to 
reform."  I  expect  you  need  reform;  God 
knows  your  life  has  been  disgraceful  and 
wicked  enough.  But  that  is  not  the  gist  of 
the  business;  a  reformation  will  not  wipe  out 
that  long,  dark  catalogue  of  sins;  turning 
over  a  new  leaf  will  not  wipe  out  the  filth  that 
is  on  the  old  dirty  leaf  you  turned  over;  that 
reformation  will  not  wash  away  past  sins,  and 
your  ideas  of  going  to  heaven  simply  on  the 
strength  of  that  reformation  will  not  stand 
the  test  of  common  sense  or  common  honesty 
or  God's  word.  Why  so?  I  will  suppose  a 
case. 

Here  is  a  man  in  town,  a  grocery  merchant 
by  the  name  of  Jones.  There  is  another  man 
in  town  by  the  name  of  Smith  that  for  the 
last  ten  years  has  been  buying  groceries  from 
Jones.  He  is  attending  the  meetings,  and  his 
conscience  is  getting  a  little  scared  up;  and 
Smith  goes  down  to  Jones'  family  grocery  store 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  191 

and  says:  "Look  here,  I  am  going  to  turn  over  a 
new  leaf  from  this  day,  and  as  long  as  I  trade 
with  you  when  I  buy  groceries  from  you  I  am 
going  to  plank  the  cash  down  right  on  the 
counter."  And  I  reckon  Jones  would  say: 
''I  am  very  glad  you  are  going  to  do  that,  but 
what  about  those  groceries  you  and  your  wife 
and  your  children  have  been  eating  up  for 
the  last  ten  years?  I  want  you  to  pay  for 
them  too."  Now,  I  submit  it  as  a  question 
of  common  honesty  and  common  sense,  for 
Smith  to  pay  Jones  the  cash  down  for  the 
groceries  he  eats  from  now  on,  will  that  liqui- 
date the  debt  for  the  groceries  he  owes  Jones 
for  in  the  past?  Nay,  verily.  Now,  then, 
on  a  parallel  reasoning  precisely,  here  is  a 
long  dark  catalogue  of  sins  standing  against 
you  on  God's  high  docket.  You  come  into 
court  and  propose  a  reformation.  Dear 
dying  man,  the  reformation  is  all  right,  but 
it  don't  wipe  out  the  past.  How  are  you  going 
to  get  it  wiped  out?  God  says  here:  ''A 
propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood,  for 
the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past."  Accept 
Christ  as  your  Saviour,  and  just  as  God  for- 
gives your  present  sins  on  the  basis  of  Christ's 
blood,  He  will  forgive  your  past  sins,  and  He 


192  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

will  cancel  them  all  with  the  red  ink  of  the 
cross.  That  is  the  only  way  to  get  rid  of 
the  sins  that  you  have  committed. 

Heb.  12:24  I  have  these  words:  ''But  ye 
have  come  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  that 
speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel." 
That  does  not  mean  Abel's  blood  which  Cain 
shed,  but  it  means  the  blood  of  Abel's  sacrifice 
that  Abel  offered.  It  speaks,  but  what  does 
this  blood  of  Christ  speak?  As  it  trickles 
down  from  that  sacred  heart  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
as  he  hangs  there  on  the  cross  it  speaks 
God  ward  and  man  ward,  heavenward  and 
earthward.  Heavenward  it  says:  ''O,  right- 
eous God,  here  is  atonement,  here  is  a  basis 
upon  which  Thou  canst  be  just  and  justify 
the  guilty  sinner.  Here  is  satisfaction  of  Thy 
violated  law;  here  is  the  removal  of  all  the 
legal  barriers,  and  now,  great  and  holy  God, 
Thou  canst  be  just  and  the  justifier  of  the 
guilty  sinner  who  accepts  Thy  sacrifice."  That 
blood  which  trickles  down  from  that  cross 
speaks  to  you  and  to  me  and  it  says:  ''Dear 
guilty  man,  here  is  pardon;  poor  lost  sinner, 
here  is  a  home;  poor  condemned  man,  here 
is  justification;  poor  unsaved  sinner,  here  is 
salvation,  here  is  eternal  life,  here  is  forgive- 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  193 

ness,  here  is  remission  of  all  your  sins  that  are 
past,  here  is  communion  with  God,  here  is 
fellowship  with  Christ,  and  here  is  heaven  and 
a  glorious  and  blessed  immortality."  Dying 
sinner,  that  is  what  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
says  to  you,  and  God  forbid  that  it  should 
speak  to  you  in  vain. 

I  go  a  step  further  and  find  in  Rev.  5 :9  the 
words  which  that  heavenly,  redeemed  host  up 
yonder  sung:  ''They  sung  a  new  song,  saying: 
Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the  book  and  to  open 
the  seals  thereof,  for  thou  wast  slain  and  hast 
redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood  out  of 
every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people  and 
nation."  And  what  does  that  blood  do?  In 
heaven  it  tunes  the  voices  of  the  redeemed 
ones,  and  it  tunes  their  voices  down  here,  and 
we  all  love  to  sing  that  precious,  glorious  old 
gospel  song,  and  I  expect  to  sing  it  in  heaven, 
that  precious  old  hymn: 

"There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 
Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins. 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains. 

The  dying  thief  rejoiced  to  see 
That  fountain  in  his  day 


194  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

And  there  may  I" — ^thank  God,  and  there 
may  you,  thank  God,  ''though  vile  as  he 
Wash  all  my  sins  away. 

Ere  since  by  faith  I  saw  the  stream 
Thy  flowing  wounds  supply, 
Redeeming  love  has  been  my  theme, 
And  shall  be  till  I  die." 

And  when  this  poor,  lisping,  stammering 
tongue  lies  silent  in  the  grave,  then,  yes, 
thank  God,  then  in  a  nobler,  sweeter  song 
I'll  sing  thy  power  to  save. 

O,  the  blood,  the  precious  blood,  the  glorious 
blood,  the  atoning  blood,  the  sin-cleansing 
blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  I  could  preach  all 
the  sermon  about  the  blood. 

But  we  must  pass  on. now  to  the  second 
point,  and  that  is,  it  is  the  shed  blood.  It 
was  the  shed  blood  that  effected  their  deliver- 
ance; not  simply  the  blood  of  the  paschal 
lamb,  but  it  was  the  shed  blood.  Mark  it, 
it  was  not  the  living  blood  in  the  living  lamb ; 
not  the  fleece,  not  the  spotlessness,  but  it  was 
the  shed  blood  that  was  the  basis  upon  which 
God  proposed  to  pass  over.  He  said  emphati- 
cally:   "Kill  the  lamb." 

Now,  what  do  you  learn  about  the  gospel 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  195 

from  all  that?  I  learn  exactly  this:  That 
it  is  the  shed  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  shed  on 
the  cross  as  an  atonement  for  our  sins,  that 
is  the  basis  upon  which  God  proposes  to  for- 
give our  sins.  Now,  get  this  fact  clear:  It 
was  not  the  miracles  of  Christ,  not  the  preach- 
ing of  Christ,  not  the  parables  of  Christ,  not 
the  life  of  Christ,  but,  my  friends,  it  was  the 
shedding  of  the  blood  of  Christ  that  made  an 
atonement  for  our  souls  and  lies  at  the  very 
basis  of  this  great  matter  of  salvation. 

Hear  how  Paul  puts  it  in  Gal.  6:14:  ''God 
forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in" — the 
doctrines?  No.  The  parables?  No.  The 
preaching?  No.  ''God  forbid  that  I  should 
glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  Why  in  the  cross,  Paul?  Because 
it  was  on  the  cross  that  he  died  for  me,  on 
the  cross  that  he  bore  my  sin.  Hence  the 
statement,  Heb.  9:22:  "And  without  shed- 
ding of  blood  is  no  remission."  That  settles 
the  question,  dear  friends.  Without  the  shed- 
ding of  Christ's  blood  on  the  cross  there  will 
be  no  remission  of  our  sins.  Hence  the  state- 
ment, Luke  24:46,  47:  "Thus  it  is  written, 
and  thus  it  behooved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to 
rise  from  the  dead  the  third  day.     And  that 


196  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be 
preached  in  his  name  among  all  nations, 
beginning  at  Jerusalem." 

Now,  then,  having  settled  by  God's  word 
that  the  shed  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
basis  upon  which  God  saves  man,  it  cuts  up 
by  the  roots,  totally,  tee-totally,  and  absolute- 
ly this  doctrine  of  salvation  by  reformation, 
by  works,  by  sacramentarianism,  by  anything 
other  than  the  shed  blood  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Now,  understand  this:  I  believe  in  works, 
and  if  works  do  not  accompany  faith,  the  faith 
is  no  account.  But  works  must  come  as  the 
result  of  salvation,  not  as  the  basis  of  salvation. 
Your  good  works  are  very  good  in  their  place; 
they  are  all  right  and  absolutely  indispensable 
in  their  place,  but  their  place  is  not  the  place 
of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  they  are  the 
result  of  being  saved  instead  of  being  the 
basis  of  salvation. 

Hence  the  statement,  Eph.  2:8,  9,  10:  ''By 
grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith,  and  that 
not  of  yourselves;  it  is  the  gift  of  God;  not 
of  works,  lest  any  man  should  boast.  For 
we  are  his  workmanship,  created  in  Jesus 
Christ  unto  good  works,  which  God  hath 
before  ordained  that  we  should  walk  in  them." 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  197 

You  see,  the  shed  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  basis  of  salvation,  and  hence  the  per- 
versity of  the  sinner  who  wants  to  make  his 
works  the  basis  of  his  salvation.  But,  to 
illustrate,  I  will  suppose  a  case  down  there  in 
Egypt.  I  will  suppose  the  death  angel  came 
along  down  the  street.  He  goes  to  the  door 
of  a  man's  house  yonder,  and  the  man  looks 
at  him  and  says:  "You  are  the  death  angel, 
are  you?"  "Yes."  "And  you  are  looking 
for  the  blood  on  the  door  post?"  "Yes." 
"Hold  on;  let  me  tell  you  about  it.  I  don't 
believe  in  your  blood  much,  and  I  don't  accept 
this  theory  very  much,  and  I  want  to  tell  you 
furthermore  that  I  am  a  very  good  man,  very 
kind,  very  hospitable,  very  patriotic,  and  I  am 
very  philanthropic;  I  help  take  care  of  the  poor 
people  and  I  look  after  the  w4dow  and  the 
orphans;  I  tell  you  the  truth;  I  pay  my  debts; 
I  am  a  first  rate  sort  of  a  man,  and  there  is 
my  little  placard  that  I  put  there  on  the 
door:  GOOD  WORKS.  Do  you  see  it?" 
"Yes,"  says  the  death  angel;  "I  see  it,  but  I 
am  not  hunting  for  that.  God  didn't  tell 
me  to  hunt  for  a  placard  of  good  works,  but 
to  hunt  blood.  Your  good  works  are  very 
good  in  their  place,  but  they  can't  take  the 


198  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

place  of  the  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb ;  because 
God  says:  'When  I  see  the  blood  I  will  pass 
over  you,'  and  you  have  rejected  that  blood 
and  set  it  aside,  and  stuck  up  your  little 
'good  works'  in  the  place  of  it,  and  I  cannot 
and  will  not  pass  over  you." 

You  see  that,  oh,  Pharisaic  man,  who  are 
going  to  heaven  on  your  good  work  and  good 
deeds?  You  are  doing  what?  You  are  setting 
aside  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  saying 
that  your  good  deeds  are  more  efficacious  in 
getting  to  heaven  than  the  blood  of  God 
Almighty's  Son;  and  you  will  be  damned  as 
certain  as  God  lives  if  you  reject  this  blood 
and  try  to  get  to  heaven  on  good  works, 
because  God  emphatically  says  that  our 
righteousness  in  His  sight  is  as  filthy  rags. 

Again,  see  the  death  angel  coming  down  to 
another  man's  door:  ''You  are  the  death 
angel,  are  you,  and  you  are  looking  for  the 
blood?"  "Yes."  "Well,  just  hold  on,  let  me 
tell  you  about  it.  I  heard  that  you  were 
coming,  and  I  hurried  round  and  got  Moses 
and  his  men  to  open  the  door  of  the  church 
and  take  me  in,  and  I  told  them  I  wanted  to 
be  baptized,  and  they  sprinkled  a  little  water 
on  my  head,  and  I  didn't  know  if  that  was 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  199 

just  right,  so  I  got  them  to  pour  some  on,  and 
I  wanted  to  be  sure  to  get  it  right,  and  I  got 
them  to  take  me  to  the  Nile  and  put  me  clear 
under,  and  I  had  them  to  write  my  name  on 
the  church  book,  and  I  took  the  sacrament 
that  they  gave  me,  and  see  my  little  placard 
up  there  on  the  door,  ECCLESIASTICISM, 
SACRAMENTARIANISM?"  "Yes,"  says 
the  death  angel,  **I  see  that,  and  that  is  a 
very  good  thing  in  its  place,  but  it  does  not 
take  the  place  of  the  blood.  God  told  me 
when  I  saw  the  blood  I  was  to  pass  over.  I 
don't  see  the  blood  here,  and  your  ecclesiastic- 
ism  and  sacramentarianism  is  worth  nothing 
at  all  when  substituted  for  blood.  I  can't 
pass  over  here." 

You  people,  then,  that  have  got  the  idea 
into  your  heads  that  all  that  is  necessary  to 
get  to  heaven  is  some  day  when  you  feel 
good  and  feel  like  it  to  go  up  here  and  join 
some  of  these  churches  and  be  baptized  and 
taken  in  in  whatever  way  you  wish  and  then 
sit  down  in  a  pew  and  call  yourself  a  saint 
and  then  go  to  heaven  on  account  of  that;  it 
won't  keep  you  out  of  hell.  Nay,  verily,  it 
is  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  when  you 
substitute   sacramentarianism   and   ritualism 


200  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

and  rites  and  ceremonies,  good  in  themselves, 
in  the  place  of  the  blood,  you  dishonor  God's 
Son,  and  you  say  God's  Son  died  in  vain.  He 
did  not  die  in  vain.  You  must  rely  on  that 
blood. 

There  are  some  men  laying  the  flattering 
unction  to  their  souls  that  there  is  nothing 
in  the  whole  business  and  they  repudiate  it 
altogether.  Let  me  say  a  word  to  you.  Sup- 
pose the  death  angel  comes  along  the  street 
and  a  man  says  to  him:  "You  are  the  death 
angel,  are  you?"  ''Yes,  and  I  am  looking 
for  the  blood."  'Well,  hold  on,  let  me  tell 
you  about  it.  I  am  a  free-thinker  myself. 
I  don't  believe  in  heaven  nor  hell  nor  God. 
I  don't  believe  in  any  such  business,  and 
consequently  I  didn't  put  any  blood  on  the 
doorpost.  See  my  little  placard  there?  FREE- 
THINKER." Says  the  death  angel:  "What 
does  that  amount  to?  You  are  a  free  thinker, 
are  you?"  "Yes."  Says  the  death  angel: 
'T  kill  free-thinkers  just  as  dead  as  any  other 
sort.  Free-thinkers  are  no  more  to  me  than 
any  other  sort  of  thinker.  What  do  I  care  for 
your  free-thinking?  God  told  me  what  to  do, 
and  I  am  God's  messenger,  and  I  am  the  death 
angel,  and  your  free-thinking  don't  amount 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  201 

to  anything  at  all,  and  I  will  do  my  work  just 
the  same  as  if  you  were  no  free-thinker." 
Just  so.  You  don't  believe  the  gospel?  No. 
You  don't  believe  in  hell?  No.  In  future 
punishment?  No.  In  God's  word?  No. 
What  does  that  amount  to?  He  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned,  and  you  will  go  along 
to  hell  with  your  infidelity  and  unbelief  and 
repudiation.  Dear  dying  man,  your  not  believ- 
ing the  Bible  does  not  affect  the  question; 
your  not  believing  in  hell  does  not  annihilate 
a  hell;  it  does  not  affect  it  one  way  or  the 
other.  I  tell  you  God  exists,  and  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  shall  pass  aw^ay,  but  the  word  of 
our  God  abideth  forever.  It  is  God's  truth, 
and  no  man  can  do  anything  against  that 
truth. 

We  now  come  to  this  third  point,  viz., 
the  applied  blood.  Mark  it.  It  must  not 
only  be  the  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb;  it 
must  not  only  be  shed,  but  it  must  also  be 
applied.  Ex.  12:22.  They  were  to  put  that 
blood  on  the  door  post,  and  says  God:  'When 
I  see  the  blood  on  the  door  post,  I  will  pass 
over  you."  Now,  suppose  the  death  angel 
comes  along,  and  a  man  says  to  him:  ''You 
are  the  death  angel  looking  for  the  blood  on 


202  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

the  door  post  here,  are  you?"  ''Yes."  ''Hold 
on,  I  got  up  my  lamb  this  evening  and  killed 
it,  and  I  got  a  goblet  and  caught  all  the  blood 
in  the  goblet,  and  here  I  have  got  it  in  the 
goblet  back  yonder  in  the  corner,  and  there 
it  is,  come  see  it."  "That  is  the  blood?" 
"Yes."  "The  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb?" 
"Yes."  "But  God  told  you  to  put  it  on 
the  door  post."  "Oh,"  says  the  man,  "my 
opinion  was  it  was  just  as  well  put  up  over 
there  in  the  goblet.  To  put  it  on  the  door 
post,  I  don't  see  what  good  that  would  do." 
Says  the  death  angel:  "It  is  not  a  question 
of  what  you  saw  or  thought;  your  opinion 
cuts  no  figure  in  the  case.  God  told  you  this, 
and  you  did  not  do  it,  and  you  will  pay  the 
forfeit  of  your  disobedience,  and  I  can't  pass 
over  here."  That  blood  has  to  be  applied  or 
it  need  not  be  shed  at  all. 

What  do  you  learn  about  the  gospel  from 
that?  I  learn  first  that  this  doctrine  of  univer- 
salism  is  a  heresy  from  hell.  Though  Christ 
died  for  all  men,  though  the  blood  of  Christ 
was  shed  for  all  men,  though  the  book  says 
that  he  by  the  grace  of  God  tasted  death  for 
every  man,  yet  what  is  the  fact?  God  says: 
He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned.     He 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  203 

that  does  not  through  faith  in  the  blood  have 
that  blood  applied  to  his  soul  is  damned  as 
effectually  as  if  the  blood  had  never  been 
shed  at  all. 

Dear  dying  sinner,  it  must  be  applied. 
When  it  is,  you  are  saved;  when  it  is  not, 
you  are  condemned.  Hear  what  God  says  in 
John  3:16:  'Tor  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son" — now, 
notice  the  individuality — "that  whosoever" — 
here  is  your  individual,  personal  acceptance — 
''whosoever  believe th  in  him  should  not 
perish."  There  is  your  individual,  personal 
application,  and  individual,  personal  salvation. 
What  else?  "He  that  believe  th  not" — there 
is  your  individual,  personal  rejection — "shall 
be  damned."  That  is  said  for  the  one  as 
much  as  for  the  other.  Applied  by  faith,  not 
applied  by  unbelief.  Dear  dying  man,  it 
must  be  applied,  you  must  accept  Christ,  you 
must  receive  Christ,  you  must  believe  Christ 
or  Christ  will  do  you  no  good. 

But  since  it  ought  to  be  applied,  what  was 
a  proper  application?  I  answer  that  it  con- 
sisted of  three  things:  First,  to  be  applied 
where  God  said;  second,  as  God  said;  and, 
third,  when  God  said.     Where  did  God  say 


204  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

apply  the  blood?  He  said  apply  it  to  the  two 
door  posts  and  the  lintel,  that  is,  the  cross- 
piece  over  the  door  post.  Now,  suppose  the 
death  angel  comes  along  and  a  man  says  to 
him:  ''You  are  the  death  angel  and  you  are 
looking  for  the  blood  on  the  door  post,  are 
you?  Well,  hold  on,  let  me  show  you  where 
it  is.  Look  up  there  on  the  ceiHng;  I  put  it 
up  there,  and  I  put  it  on  the  wall  outside,  and 
outside  on  the  gable  end,  and  I  put  some  on 
the  roof.  Look  around  there  and  see  it.'* 
*'Yes,"  said  the  death  angel,  "I  see  it  there  on 
the  ceiling  and  on  the  wall  and  on  the  gable 
and  roof,  but  God  did  not  tell  you  to  put  it 
there;  He  told  you  to  put  it  on  the  door  post." 
''But  my  opinion  was  that  it  would  do  just 
as  well  to  put  it  there  as  on  the  door  post." 
"What  right  did  you  have  to  go  by  your 
opinion?  What  right  did  you  have  to  sub- 
stitute your  opinion  for  the  plain,  explicit 
command  of  Almighty  God?"  Your  opinion 
cuts  no  figure  in  the  case.  God's  word  is 
law,  God's  word  is  authority,  and  you  set 
that  aside  for  your  opinion?  Says  the  death 
angel:     "I  can't  pass  over  here." 

Now,  I  might  just  as  well  stop  and  make  a 
point  I  want  to  make  right  here  as  anywhere 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB       '  205 

else.  That  man  in  that  case  lost  his  first 
born  son  because  he  went  by  his  opinion 
instead  of  God's  word,  and  that  is  the  way 
that  many  a  man  and  woman  are  going  to 
hell  in  our  day.  You  form  opinions  about  so 
and  so,  and  you  form  an  opinion  that  there  is 
no  hell;  you  form  an  opinion  that  so  and  so 
in  the  Bible  is  not  true;  you  form  an  opinion 
about  these  things,  and  then  what  do  you  do? 
You  go  by  your  opinion  instead  of  going  by 
God's  word,  and  I  tell  you,  sir,  you  will  be 
damned  as  certain  as  you  do  it.  It  is  God's 
word,  and  not  our  opinion.  Oh,  this  matter 
of  opinion,  I  get  so  sick  of  it.  Somebody 
takes  a  heresy,  or  an  ism  or  a  schism,  into 
their  head,  and  they  go  by  their  opinion 
instead  of  going  by  God's  holy  word.  Here 
is  some  poor,  old  blatherskite,  sitting  around 
on  the  corner  of  the  street,  about  half-full  of 
w^hiskey  all  the  time,  tobacco-juice  running 
down  the  corner  of  his  mouth,  and  his  eyes 
red,  and  he  gathers  the  boys  around  him  and 
says:  ''My  opinion  is  that  the  Bible  is  a  lie. 
My  opinion  is  that  there  is  not  any  hell." 
Poor,  old  soul,  unfit  to  live,  unprepared  to 
die.  What  is  his  opinion  worth  on  these 
things?    Setting  his  poor,  old,  besotted,  befoul- 


206  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

ed,  besmirched  opinion  up  against  the  oracles 
of  the  omnipotent  God. 

There  often  goes  around  in  this  country  a 
young  man;  he  has  been  off  to  college  just 
once  or  twice,  and  he  has  read  one  or  two 
volumes  of  the  North  American  Review,  and 
he  has  read  one  or  two  chapters  in  Buckley, 
Mill  or  Spencer,  and  one  or  two  chapters  in 
Huxley,  or  Darwin,  or  some  of  those  men,  and 
he  comes  now  strutting  around:  ''The  Bible 
is  a  lie,  and  my  opinion  is  that  there  is  nothing 
in  it.  My  opinion  is  that  it  is  all  an  old 
exploded  theory,  all  fanaticism,  that  there 
isn't  anything  in  it."  Poor,  little,  ignorant, 
contemptible,  conceited  fellow;  got  about  sense 
enough  to  grease  a  gimlet,  setting  his  poor, 
little  conceited  opinion  up  beside  the  word  of 
Almighty  God,  talking  about  what  he  believes. 
Dear,  dying,  conceited  young  man,  if  you  are 
here  before  me,  let  me  tell  you,  your  opinion 
cuts  no  figure  in  this  case  whatever.  God 
says:  ''He  that  believe th  and  is  baptized 
shall  be  saved ;  and  he  that  believeth  not  shall 
be  damned."  Whenever  a  man  went  by  his 
opinion  and  not  by  God's  word  he  got  into 
trouble.  Where  did  the  blood  have  to  be? 
On  the  door  post.    Where  ought  you  to  have 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  207 

it,  dear  man?  Where  have  you  got  it?  Have 
you  got  it  on  your  hand,  or  on  your  head? 
The  Jews  said:  ''Let  it  be  on  our  heads," 
and  God  knows  it  has  been  there.  I  will  tell 
you  where  you  unsaved  men  and  women  have 
got  it,  under  the  bottoms  of  your  feet.  Hear 
what  the  apostle  says,  Heb.  10:29:  ''Of  how 
much  sorer  punishment  suppose  ye,  shall  he 
be  thought  worthy,  who  hath  trodden  under 
foot  the  Son  of  God."  "Counted  the  blood  of 
the  covenant  an  unholy  thing." 

Where  ought  you  to  have  that  blood?  You 
ought  to  have  it  on  the  door  posts  of  your 
soul.  Hear  what  Christ  says:  "Blessed  are 
the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 
Dear  dying  man,  have  you  got  the  blood  on 
the  door  posts  of  your  soul?  If  you  have,  I 
bid  you  godspeed;  if  you  have  not,  you  are 
tonight  exposed  to  the  death  angel,  and  with- 
out God  in  the  world. 

But  again,  how  was  it  to  be  applied?  Here 
in  Exodus,  it  was  to  be  applied  on  a  bunch  of 
hyssop.  God  said  take  a  bunch  of  hyssop 
and  dip  it  in  the  blood  that  is  in  the  basin, 
and  sprinkle  it  on  the  door  posts.  Why  did 
God  say  hyssop?    I  don't  know;  that  is  none 


208  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

of  my  business.  He  said  hyssop,  and  that 
is  sufficient. 

What  do  you  learn  about  the  gospel  from 
that?  That  this  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  is  to 
be  applied  the  way  God  said  apply  it.  How- 
did  God  say?  He  said  apply  it  by  faith,  a 
propitiation  through  faith  in  His  blood.  Brains 
are  good  for  some  things,  but  they  are  not 
worth  anything  when  it  comes  to  applying 
the  blood  of  Christ;  science  is  good  for  some 
things,  but  science  cannot  apply  the  blood  of 
Christ;  philosophy  is  good  for  somethings, but 
philosophy  cannot  apply  the  blood  of  Christ. 
According  to  God's  plan  of  salvation,  faith  is 
the  only  instrumentality  that  does  and  can 
apply  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  Hence  the 
statement:  He  that  believeth  not  shall  be 
damned. 

But  when  was  a  proper  application?  I 
answer  it  was  to  put  the  blood  on  there  when 
God  said  so.  He  said  on  the  night  of  the  14th 
day.  I  will  suppose  a  case.  The  death  angel 
comes  to  the  door  and  the  man  says:  "You 
are  the  death  angel  looking  for  the  blood?" 
**Yes."  ''Hold  on;  I  have  had  a  very  great 
amount  of  business  to  attend  to,  have  had 
quite  a  run;  I  got  home  about  night,  the  sheep 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  209 

were  away  off  in  the  pasture,  and  I  didn't 
get  up  the  paschal  lamb;  but  I  am  going  to 
get  it  up  tomorrow  and  kill  it  tomorrow,  and 
tomorrow  night  I  am  going  to  put  it  there. 
And  you  come  back  tomorrow  night  and  you 
will  see  it  there."  *'0h,"  said  the  death  angel, 
"God  told  you  to  put  it  there  this  night,  the 
night  of  the  fourteenth  day,  and  this  is  the 
fourteenth  day,  and  I  am  here,  and  I  cannot 
pass  over,  and  it  need  never  get  there  at  all 
now.  It  is  too  late."  Dear  sinners,  that  is 
just  the  way  it  is  with  some  of  you  when 
you  are  called  to  Christ.  God  says  now;  you 
say  tomorrow.  God  says  tonight;  you  say 
tomorrow  night.  Now,  I  beg  you,  in  God's 
name,  before  the  death  angel  lays  his  hand 
on  your  throat  come  now.  Which  one  of  you 
will  apply  the  blood  of  Jesus  to  your  heart  and 
soul  and  conscience  even  this  night?  God 
grant  that  you  all  may  do  it. 

Now,  I  can't  conclude  this  sermon  without 
making  just  one  brief  remark  about  the  results 
of  applying  that  blood.  Sinners,  I  want  you 
tonight  to  take  your  stand  by  faith  upon  that 
promise  and  put  your  faith  in  it,  and  when  you 
do  it  God  will  save  your  souls.  Let  me  give 
you  an  illustration  of  the  result. 


210  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Here  is  a  man  and  his  wife  and  his  family, 
and  there  is  the  Httle  first-born  son  over  there 
in  the  cradle,  and  the  wife  says:  "Husband, 
oh,  listen,  do  you  hear  that  shriek  down  the 
street  there?  Hear  that  mother  as  she  wails 
for  her  children.  Oh,  husband,  listen  to  the 
cries  at  that  other  house.  The  death  angel 
is  there  doing  his  work."  And  I  hear  the  wife 
say:  "Husband,  do  you  reckon  it  is  safe? 
Do  you  feel  all  right?  Hadn't  you  better  go 
and  bar  that  door?  Hadn't  you  better  go 
and  do  something  else  in  addition  to  that 
blood?"  And  I  imagine  I  hear  the  husband 
say:  "Wife,  it  is  not  a  question  of  feeling,  or 
of  our  sufficiency;  it  is  not  a  question  as  to 
whether  or  not  we  can  cope  with  that  death 
angel,  but  only  a  question  of  whether  God 
will  do  what  He  said  He  would  do.  Now, 
the  blood  is  on  the  door  post,  and  if  God  can- 
not keep  the  death  angel  out  by  means  of 
the  blood,  what  is  the  use  to  bar  the  door? 
If  God  can  do  it,  we  need  do  no  more.  If 
God  can  prevent  that  death  angel  coming  in 
here  as  He  said  He  would,  we  are  saved.  It 
is  not  a  question  of  barring  the  door,  but  of 
doing  what  God  said."  And  here  comes  the 
death  angel  about  that  time.     "Are  you  the 


THE  PASCHAL  LAMB  in 

death  angel  and  are  you  looking  for  the 
blood?"  "Yes."  'There  it  is  on  the  door 
post."  And  I  see  that  man  as  he  goes  and 
takes  that  little  darling  first-born  boy,  and 
holds  him  in  his  arms.  ''You  have  come  here 
to  kill  this  boy,  death  angel?"  "Yes."  "God 
said  when  you  saw  that  blood  on  the  door 
post  He  wouldn't  suffer  you  to  come,  and  you 
can't  come."  "No,"  said  the  death  angel, 
"I  can't.  Lay  your  darling  back  in  his  cradle. 
I  wouldn't  cross  that  threshold  if  I  could,  and 
I  couldn't  if  I  would,  and  Almighty  God 
stands  on  the  threshold  of  your  door,  and  He 
is  your  defence,  and  your  faith  is  well-founded, 
and  I  leave  you  in  security,  safe  behind  the 
blood." 

Just  the  blood,  nothing  else,  just  the  blood 
and  faith  in  the  blood  that  did  the  whole 
work,  nothing  else.  Now,  that  is  my  idea  of 
the  gospel.  We  are  all  a  lot  of  poor  sinners; 
we  can't  save  ourselves,  but  here  is  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  God  says  it  cleanses  from 
all  sin,  and  God  says  through  faith  in  the 
blood  our  sins  are  to  be  forgiven.  I  come  and 
put  my  faith  in  the  blood  and  take  my  stand 
behind  the  cross  of  Christ.  I  have  no  right 
to  go  to  heaven,  I  have  no  strength  to  cope 


212  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

with  the  devil,  I  have  no  merit  at  all.  My 
faith  is  just  simply  this  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
God's  Son  and  died  for  me,  and  God's  word 
says  if  I  believe  in  him  I  have  eternal  life 
and  shall  be  saved,  and  there  I  stand,  and 
there  I  can  cope  with  the  devil  and  there  I 
can  point  to  him  and  say  this:  **I  know 
that  my  Redeemer  liveth.  As  an  old  lion  you 
can  go  about  seeking  whom  you  may  devour, 
but,  Satan,  I  am  behind  the  blood.  I  have 
put  my  faith  in  the  blood,  I  am  holding  on 
to  Jesus  and  I  am  clinging  to  the  cross.  Satan, 
you  cannot  put  me  in." 

Thank  God  for  it.  Dear  dying  sinner,  will 
you  take  your  stand  there,  with  the  blood, 
have  faith  in  the  blood,  and  that  will  secure 
your  salvation.  Let  me  read  Heb.  13:20,  21: 
*'Now,  the  God  of  peace,  that  brought  again 
from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  great 
Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the  blood  of 
the  everlasting  covenant,  make  you  perfect 
in  every  good  work  to  do  his  will,  working 
in  you  that  which  is  well-pleasing  in  his 
sight,  through  Jesus  Christ;  to  whom  be  glory 
forever  and  ever.    Amen." 

Dear  friends,  that  is  the  glorious  gospel 
of  the  Son  of  God. 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT 

Jan.  25,  1889,  8  P.  M. 
"As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must 
the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up:    That  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should 
not  perish,  hut  have  eternal  life"    John  3:14,  15. 

Tonight  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to 
the  brazen  serpent.  Let  me  say  that  the 
words  of  this  text  constitute  one  of  the  pro- 
foundest  thoughts  in  God's  blessed  word, 
because  it  sweeps  the  entire  field  of  human 
ruin  and  redemption.  It  covers  the  entire 
ground  of  the  fall  of  man  and  the  redemption 
of  man  by  Jesus  Christ.  But  while  that  is 
so,  when  explained  in  the  light,  of  God's  word 
it  is  one  of  the  simplest,  plainest  and  most 
easil}^  understood  texts  that  there  is  in  God's 
blessed  book. 

But  I  hear  some  man  back  yonder  say: 
"But  it  doesn't  seem  so  plain,  simple  and  easy 
to  me."  If  it  does  not,  my  friend,  it  is  because 
you  are  not  very  familiar  with  God's  holy 
word.  Christ  was  talking  to  Nicodemus,  who 
was  not  only  a  Jew,  but  a  ruler  of  the  Jews, 
and  one  well-versed  in  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures;    and    Christ    said    to    him:      ''As 


214  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,'* 
and  that  allusion  was  sufficient  for  Nicodemus 
because  he  was  familiar  with  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures.  But  as  you,  perhaps,  are 
not  as  familiar  with  them  as  Nicodemus  was, 
I  want  to  turn  back  to  the  21st  chapter  of 
Numbers,  begin  with  the  fifth  verse  and  read 
five  or  six  verses.  "And  the  people  spake 
against  God  and  against  Moses:  Wherefore 
have  ye  brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt  to  die 
in  the  wilderness?  for  there  is  no  bread, 
neither  is  there  any  water,  and  our  soul 
loatheth  this  light  bread.  And  the  Lord  sent 
fiery  serpents  among  the  people,  and  they 
bit  the  people,  and  much  people  of  Israel  died. 
Therefore  the  people  came  to  Moses  and  said : 
We  have  sinned,  for  we  have  spoken  against 
the  Lord,  and  against  thee;  pray  unto  the 
Lord  that  He  take  away  the  serpents  from 
us.  And  Moses  prayed  for  the  people.  And 
the  Lord  said  unto  Moses:  Make  thee  a 
fiery  serpent,  and  set  it  upon  a  pole,  and  it 
shall  come  to  pass,  that  every  one  that  is 
bitten,  w^hen  he  looketh  upon  it  shall  live. 
And  Moses  made  a  serpent  of  brass  and  put 
it  upon  a  pole,  and  it  came  to  pass,  that  if  a 
serpent  had  bitten  any  man,  when  he  beheld 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  215 

the  serpent  of  brass,  he  Hved."  Now,  that 
is  the  Scripture  to  which  Christ  alludes  over 
here  in  the  next  text  when  He  says:  ''As 
Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness, 
even  so  shall  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  eternal  life." 

I  want  to  preach  to  penitent  souls  tonight, 
and  I  want  to  preach  the  gospel  just  as 
simply  as  I  know  how  to  make  it,  so  simply 
and  plainly  that  if  there  is  an  unfortunate 
man  here  tonight  who  never  heard  a  gospel 
sermon  before  in  his  life  and  should  never 
hear  another  one,  that  he  could  learn  enough 
about  God's  word  and  God's  Son  and  God's 
plan  of  salvation  this  night  to  know  how  to 
be  saved. 

Now,  without  any  further  preliminary 
remarks  I  want  to  take  the  Scripture  that  I 
read  in  Numbers  in  connection  with  this  text, 
and  from  the  passage  from  Numbers  I  gather 
three  facts  and  from  the  text  in  John  I  have 
exactly  three  parallel  facts.  The  three  facts 
from  Numbers,  second  chapter,  are  these: 
First,  the  Israelites  were  bitten  by  those  fiery 
serpents;  second,  the  brazen  serpent  erected 
on  the  pole  was  the  remedy  for  the  bite  of 


216  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

those  fiery  serpents;  third,  a  look  at  the  brazen 
serpent  was  the  condition  of  a  cure  on  the 
part  of  those  bitten  IsraeHtes. 

The  three  parallel  thoughts  are  these:  First, 
we  all  as  a  race  are  devil-bitten,  sin-cursed,  sin- 
sick;  the  second  parallel  fact  is  that  Jesus 
Christ  crucified  on  the  cross  is  God's  remedy 
for  our  sin-sick  souls;  the  third  parallel  fact 
is  that  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  is  the  condition 
upon  which  God  will  save  guilty,  sin-sick  souls. 
And  now  to  the  law  and  the  testimony. 

The  first  fact  is  that  those  Israelites  were  bit- 
ten. Num.  22:6:  ''And  the  Lord  sent  fiery  ser- 
pents among  the  people,  and  they  bit  the  people, 
and  much  people  of  Israel  died."  Now,  that 
is  the  fact.  It  is  a  fact  stated  in  God's  word 
that  those  serpents  bit  the  people,  and  there 
is  no  way  to  get  around  that  fact  unless  you 
repudiate  God's  word.  If  you  repudiate  God's 
word,  then  I  have  no  message  for  you.  I  am 
here  to  tell  you  what  God  says;  I  am  here  to 
deliver  you  God's  word;  God's  word  lays  it 
down  as  a  fact  that  those  Israelites  were 
bitten  and  to  those  that  were  there  on  the 
ground  especially  it  was  a  very  self-evident 
fact.  It  was  not  long  after  the  serpents  had 
bitten  them  until  the  flesh  would  begin  to 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  217 

swell,  and  their  cheeks  would  flush,  and  their 
muscles  would  begin  to  get  rigid  and  their 
eyes  blood-shot,  and  presently  the  cold,  clam- 
my sweat  would  stand  on  their  brows,  and 
their  eyes  were  glazed  in  death.  It  was  a 
fact,  a  painful  and  a  self-evident  fact  to  those 
Israelites  there  in  the  camp  that  they  were 
bitten  by  those  fiery  serpents. 

Then  it  is  equally  true  that  the  first  parallel 
fact  is  correct,  viz.,  that  you  and  I  and  all  of 
Adam's  race  are  sin-sick,  are  devil-bitten,  are 
sin-cursed.    In  Gen.  3 :13  we  have  these  words 
of  the  woman,  when  God  accosted  her  as  to 
her  crime  and  disobedience:     'The  serpent 
beguiled  me  and  I  did  eat."     What  serpent? 
Not  simply  the  literal  snake  that  was  there  in 
tlie  garden,  but  that  serpent  which  in  Rev. 
12:9  is  called  the  dragon,  the  old  serpent,  the 
devil  and  Satan.    That  old  serpent,  the  devil, 
was  in  the  literal  snake  and  spoke  through 
that  unto  the  woman,  and  beguiled  her,  and 
her  husband  took  part  in  the  transaction  with 
her,  and  thus  was  the  venom  of  hell  infused 
into  him,  and  through  him  into  her,  and  there 
is  where  the  great  trouble  of  the  sin-sick  soul 
began,  and  there  is  where  the  great  poisoned 
bite  of  the  great  serpent  was  first  inflicted. 


218  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

Now,  the  question  is:  Was  that  venom 
imparted  to  Adam  and  Eve's  progeny  by 
ordinary  generation?  Let  us  see  what  God 
says  about  the  ante-deluvians,  Gen.  6:5 :  *'God 
saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in 
the  earth,  and  that  every  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil  contin- 
ually." How  came  those  thoughts  evil  and 
only  evil  and  evil  continually?  Because  the 
venom  of  the  old  serpent  was  imparted  to 
Cain  and  Abel  and  Adam  and  Eve's  progeny, 
and  it  was  so  great  that  God  Almighty  wiped 
them  off  the  face  of  the  earth  with  a  terrible 
deluge. 

Now,  the  question  is:  Was  that  same  poison 
of  the  old  serpent  communicated  through 
Noah  and  his  descendants  on  down  to  the  rest 
of  mankind  after  the  flood?  Let  us  see  what 
God  says,  Isa.  1:5,  6:  "The  whole  head  is 
sick,  and  the  whole  heart  faint.  From  the 
sole  of  the  foot  even  unto  the  head  there  is 
no  soundness  in  it;  but  wounds  and  bruises 
and  putrifying  sores."  That  is  not  simply  a 
description  of  Israel,  but  it  is  also  a  description 
morally  of  all  mankind. 

Again,  Isa.  53:6  we  have  these  words:  **A11 
w^e   like   sheep   have   gone   astray;   we   have 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  219 

turned  every  one  to  his  own  way,  and  the 
Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all." 
Again,  Jer.  17:9,  we  have  these  words:  "The 
heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  des- 
perately wicked:  who  can  know  it?"  Such 
is  God's  statement  about  the  human  heart. 
But  I  hear  some  man  say:  ''O  yes,  but  those 
are  all  from  the  Old  Testament."  I  know  they 
are  from  the  Old  Testament,  but  the  Old 
Testament  was  endorsed  by  Jesus  Christ,  and 
is  just  as  much  the  word  of  God  as  the  New 
Testament.  But  we  have  got  something  from 
the  New  Testament  also,  Matt.  15:19:  'Tor 
out  of  the  heart  proceed  evil  thoughts,  mur- 
ders, adulteries,  fornications,  thefts,  false  wit- 
ness, blasphemies."  That  is  what  Jesus  Christ 
says  comes  out  of  the  human  heart,  and  it 
corresponds  exactly  with  what  Jeremiah,  in- 
spired by  the  Holy  Ghost,  said:  'The  heart 
is  deceitful  above  all  things  and  desperately 
wicked."  May  I  read  you  one  other  passage, 
Gal.  5:19,  20,  21.  Will  you  hear  the  descrip- 
tion of  human  nature,  of  mankind  in  this  our 
day?  If  you  will  read  any  first  class  daily 
paper,  you  will  find  in  that  column  of  mis- 
deeds, mishaps,  and  crimes,  a  counterpart  of 
just  what  I  am  going  to  read  you  from  God's 


220  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

blessed  word.  ''Now,  the  works  of  the  flesh 
are  manifest,  which  are  these:  Adultery, 
fornication,  uncleanness,  lasciviousness,  idol- 
atry, witchcraft,  hatred,  variance,  emulations, 
wrath,  strife,  seditions,  heresies,  envyings, 
murders,  drunkenness,  revellings,  and  such 
like;  of  the  w^hich  I  tell  you  before,  as  I  have 
also  told  you  in  time  past,  that  they  which 
do  such  things  shall  not  inherit  the  King- 
dom of  God." 

Now,  my  friends,  if  the  case  is  not  made 
out,  if  the  fact  is  not  established  beyond 
successful  contradiction,  that  humanity  is 
sin-sick,  sin-cursed,  devil-bitten  and  depraved, 
then  no  fact  can  be  established  by  God's 
word,  and  God's  book  is  wiped  out  as  a  testi- 
mony to  any  proposition. 

But  is  it  not  as  self-evident  to  us  that  we 
are  devil-bitten  as  it  was  to  those  Israelites 
that  they  were  serpent-bitten?  As  we  look 
around  today  don't  we  see  the  counterpart 
of  what  I  just  read  to  you  there?  Don't  we  see 
drunkenness  and  murder?  Don't  we  hear  of 
adultery,  perjury,  arson,  seduction,  lying, 
theft  and  all  kinds  of  abominable  wickedness? 
Do  we  not  see  it  on  our  streets?  Do  we  not 
read  it  in  our  daily  papers?    Do  w^e  not  meet 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  221 

it  in  our  civil  and  criminal  courts?  Dear 
dying  friends,  the  fact  is  undeniably  correct 
that  we  are  diseased  and  devil-bitten.  So 
much  for  the  first  fact  and  its  parallel. 

We  now  come  to  the  second  fact,  was  that 
brazen  serpent  there  on  that  pole  a  remedy 
for  the  bite  of  those  fiery  serpents?  Is  that 
a  fact?  Let  us  see  what  God  says  about  it, 
Num.  21:8:  "And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
make  thee  a  fiery  serpent  and  set  it  upon  a 
pole,  and  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  every  one 
that  is  bitten,  when  he  looketh  upon  it  shall 
live."  There  is  no  denying  that  fact.  There 
was  a  serpent  of  brass  made  by  God's  express 
order,  and  erected  upon  that  pole  there  in 
the  camp  of  the  Israelites,  and  that  brazen 
serpent  of  itself,  by  itself,  without  any  sup- 
plements, without  any  help  whatsoever,  of 
itself  exclusively,  was  God's  appointed  remedy, 
was  the  ample,  complete  and  all  sufficient 
remedy,  for  each  individual  case,  for  every 
case  there  was  in  the  camp  of  Israel. 

What  did  a  man  in  that  camp  have  to  do? 
He  didn't  have  to  go  into  the  snake  busi- 
ness; he  didn't  have  to  cure  himself;  he 
didn't  have  to  provide  a  remedy.  He  had 
simply  to  receive  and  accept  the  remedy  that 


222  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

God  had  provided.  That  was  the  whole  of  it. 
I  want  you  to  get  that  point  clearly.  He 
didn't  have  to  add  anything  to  it;  he  didn't 
have  to  make  the  remedy  any  better,  nor 
himself  any  better;  he  didn't  have  to  supple- 
ment the  remedy  in  any  way  whatsoever;  but 
simply  to  receive  that  remedy  in  and  of  and 
by  itself.  How  simple,  how  plain,  how  easy 
that  all  was.  Now,  the  gospel  is  just  that 
plain,  that  simple,  and  that  easy. 

And  that  brings  me  to  the  second  parallel 
fact,  viz.,  that  Jesus  Christ  crucified  on  the 
cross  is  God's  remedy  for  our  poor,  sin-sick, 
lost,  condemned  souls.  Jesus  by  himself, 
Jesus  without  any  human  addition,  Jesus 
without  any  human  supplement,  Jesus  with- 
out any  additional  human  merit,  Jesus  of 
himself,  by  himself,  Jesus  and  Jesus  only, 
is  God's  remedy  for  sin.  All  the  sinner  has 
to  do  is  to  accept  God's  remedy,  accept 
God's  Son,  commit  himself  into  the  hands 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

Dear  dying  man,  what  you  are  trying  to  do 
is  you  are  trying  to  help  Jesus  save  you; 
he  doesn't  need  your  help.  All  that  you 
have  to  do  is  to  accept  the  Saviour,  and  he 
does  the  saving,  and  he  does  it  of  himself, 


I 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  223 

by  himself,   without  any  of  your  assistance 
at  all. 

But  says  some  man:  "Preacher,  is  that  a 
fact?  Is  it  a  fact  that  I  don't  have  to  help  the 
Saviour?  Is  it  a  fact  that  that  Saviour  of 
himself  and  by  himself  is  the  all-sufficient 
remedy,  prepared  by  Almighty  God?"  Yes. 
Now,  to  the  law  and  the  testimony.  Hear 
the  book.  John  3:14,  19,  inclusive,  we  have  .'^ 
these  words:  "And  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  ser- 
pent in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son 
of  man  be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever  believeth 
in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life.  For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
eternal  life.  For  God  sent  not  his  Son  into 
the  world  to  condemn  the  world;  but  that 
the  world  through  him  might  be  saved. 
He  that  believeth  on  him  is  not  condemned, 
but  he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned  al- 
ready, because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the 
name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God." 
From  that  Scripture  is  it  not  clear  that  Jesus, 
Jesus  only,  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  is  the 
Saviour  of  a  lost  world,  and  God's  remedy 
for  sin? 


224  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

But  again  in  Acts  4:12  we  have  the  words, 
"Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other,  for 
there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved." 
1  Cor.  3:11:  "For  other  foundation  can  no 
man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus 
Christ."  That  settles  the  fact  that  Christ, 
and  Christ  only,  is  God's  remedy,  ample,  com- 
plete and  all-sufficient,  for  every  soul  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.  How  does  that  simplify  the 
whole  business.  Hear  what  God  says:  "As 
many  as  received  him  to  them  gave  he  power 
to  become  the  sons  of  God."  Then,  what  has  a 
man  got  to  do  to  become  a  son  of  God  ?  He 
has  to  receive  God's  Son,  just  simply  accept 
God's  Son  and  commit  his  soul  into  the  hands 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  trouble  with 
you,  dying  man,  is  that  you  are  speculating 
about  theology,  and  about  creeds  and  about 
dogmas  and  about  church  polity,  and  about 
a  great  many  other  questions.  Let  all  of 
those  things  alone,  you  don't  have  to  swallow 
a  Catechism  to  be  saved.  You  don't  have  to 
receive  a  theology,  nor  accept  a  dogma, 
nor  an  abstraction.  What  do  you  have  to 
do  to  be  saved?  Accept  God's  remedy,  pure 
and  simple,   of  himself  and  by  himself,   the 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  225 

Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Will  you  do  that  tonight? 
Dear  man,  will  you  take  Christ  as  your 
Saviour  tonight?  If  you  do,  God  will  save 
you. 

Now,  we  come  to  the  third  fact,  which 
is  that  a  look  on  the  part  of  that  bitten  Israe- 
lite at  that  brazen  serpent  was  the  condition 
of  a  cure.  The  brazen  serpent  itself  was  the 
remedy;  but,  sinner,  it  was  not  a  remedy 
that  saved  without  conditions.  It  w^as  a 
remedy  that  became  efficacious  upon  a  certain 
condition  that  the  sick,  bitten  Israelite  w^ould 
look,  just  simply  look,  at  that  brazen  serpent. 
Hear  the  word  of  God,  Num.  21:9:  *'And 
Moses  made  a  serpent  of  brass,  and  put  it 
upon  a  pole,  and  it  came  to  pass,  that  if  a 
serpent  had  bitten  any  man,  when  he  beheld 
the  serpent  of  brass,  he  lived."  Let  us  put 
it  all  together.  There  is  the  brazen  serpent 
on  the  pole;  there  is  the  poor,  sin-bitten 
Israelite  lying  right  down  there.  That  is  the 
remedy  and  he  is  a  sick  man.  What  is  the  con- 
dition upon  which  he  is  to  get  well?  It  is  not 
that  he  understands  a  brass  snake,  nor  how 
brass  is  made,  nor  how  brass  snakes  are 
made.  It  is  not  that  he  catches  hold  of  that 
brass  snake;  it  is  that  he  simply  looks  at  it, 


226  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

just  that,  all  of  that,  and  no  more  than  that. 
How  exceedingly  easy  and  simple,  and  wouldn't 
you  have  thought  that  every  man  in  the 
camp  would  have  complied  with  that  condition 
and  accepted  that  remedy?  But  yet  we  are 
told  that  many  of  them  died,  rather  than 
accept  that  plain,  simple  condition  of  mere 
looking  at  that  brazen  serpent. 

Now,  we  come  to  the  third  parallel  fact, 
which  is  this,  that  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  condition  upon  which  God  promises  to 
save  your  soul.  Faith  in  Jesus,  not  feeling, 
not  understanding,  not  speculating,  not  self- 
improvement,  not  making  your  heart  any 
better.  But  the  condition  upon  which  God 
proposes  to  save  you  is  simply  faith,  nothing 
more,  nothing  less,  than  simple  faith  on 
Jesus  Christ.  Of  course,  the  pre-requisite 
of  salvation,  repentance  and  forsaking  your 
sins,  goes  before,  but  that  is  the  one  final 
point  upon  which  the  whole  thing  hinges, 
and  if  it  is  not  accomplished,  nothing  else 
can  succeed.  But  hear  what  God  says  on 
this  point,  that  faith,  simple  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  is  God's  condition  of  a  cure.  Gal. 
3:26  we  have  the  words:  "For  ye  are  all  the 
children  of  God   by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus." 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  111 

John  1:12:  ''But  as  many  as  received  him, 
to  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons 
of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his 
name."  Again  in  Acts  16:31:  ''BeUeveon  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 
Again  in  Acts  13:38,  39,  ''Be  it  known  unto 
you  therefore,  men  and  brethren,  that  through 
this  man  is  preached  unto  you  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins.  And  by  him  all  that  believe  are 
justified  from  all  things,  from  which  ye  could 
not  be  justified  by  the  law  of  Moses."  Hence 
the  statement  in  Rom.  4:5:  "But  to  him  that 
worketh  not,  but  believeth  on  him  that  justi- 
fied the  ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted  for 
righteousness."  Hence  the  statement  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  John  5:24:  "Verily,  verily, 
I  say  unto  you.  He  that  heareth  my  word 
and  believeth  on  him  that  sent  me,  hath 
everlasting  life,  and  shall  not  come  into  con- 
demnation, but  is  passed  from  death  unto 
life."  Hence  the  grand  statement  in  Rom. 
5:1:  "Therefore,  being  justified  by  faith,  we 
have  peace  with  God,  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  Hence  the  statement  in 
Eph.  2:8:  "For  by  grace  are  ye  saved  through 
faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the 
gift  of  God."     It  is  only  "through  faith"  that 


228  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

you  are  to  receive  the  pardon  of  your  sins, 
and  the  salvation  of  your  soul. 

Now,  let  us  pin  all  of  this  together.  Here 
you  are,  a  poor,  guilty,  lost,  condemned, 
unsaved  sinner,  here  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
crucified  on  the  cross,  God's  Son,  the  Messiah, 
the  Saviour  of  a  lost  world,  God's  remedy 
for  sin-cursed  humanity.  Now,  upon  what 
conditions  will  that  glorious  Saviour  save 
this  lost  soul?  Upon  the  condition  that 
sinner  will  trust  him,  upon  the  condition 
that  sinner  will  put  his  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Dear  man,  how  simple  all 
that  is.  You  are  the  sinner,  Christ  is  the 
Saviour,  God  says  believe  in  that  Saviour 
and  you  shall  be  saved.  Will  you  do  that? 
God  grant  that  you  may. 

Just  as  I  said  a  while  ago  it  was  so  strange 
that  anybody  there  in  that  camp  would 
actually  die.  Is  it  not  equally  strange  that 
anybody  under  such  a  gospel  as  this,  so  plain, 
so  simple,  so  easy,  will  speculate,  and  philoso- 
phise, and  theorise,  and  finally  die  instead 
of  accepting  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  by  faith? 
Now,  I  want  to  bring  out  and  illustrate  and 
enforce  several  things,  so  let  us  draw  near 
that  camp  of  Israel  a  little. 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  229 

Here  are  the  tents  scattered  all  round, 
and  yonder  is  the  brazen  serpent  up  on  a 
pole,  and  I  imagine  I  see  Moses  walking 
around  in  the  camp  of  Israel,  and  he  comes 
up  here  and  finds  a  man  there  sick.  Moses 
says,  ''What  is  the  matter  with  you,  friend?" 
''O  Moses,  I  am  sick,  I  am  very  sick,  Moses. 
A  snake  bit  me  and  I  am  deathly  sick.  What 
shall  I  do?"  I  imagine  I  hear  Moses  say: 
''Yonder  is  a  brazen  serpent;  that  is  the  rem- 
edy; and  the  way  that  that  brazen  serpent 
will  cure  you,  you  are  just  to  turn  over 
and  look  at  it."  Says  the  man:  "Tut,  tut; 
talk  to  me  about  a  brass  snake  curing  the 
bite  of  a  living  snake.  Talk  to  me  about 
there  being  any  connection  between  a  living 
snake  and  a  dead  snake;  talk  to  me  about 
my  getting  cured  by  looking.  I  don't  see 
any  science  or  philosophy  in  that;  I  don't 
see  any  common  sense  in  it."  I  imagine 
I  hear  Moses  say:  "Look  here,  man,  it  is  not  a 
question  of  whether  you  see  the  connection 
or  not.  There  is  connection.  It  is  not  a 
question  of  whether  you  understand  it,  or 
not,  it  is  not  a  question  of  whether  it  strikes 
you  as  scientific,  or  not,  or  philosophic,  or 
not.    Here  is  a  fact,  the  fact  is  you  are  snake- 


230  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

bitten;  here  is  another  fact,  that  that  brazen 
serpent  is  the  only  cure  for  the  bite  of  these 
snakes,  and  here  is  another  fact,  that  every 
one  that  looks  at  it  is  cured;  and  another 
fact,  that  every  one  that  does  not,  dies. 
Then  what  is  the  use  of  lying  here  and  quib- 
bling and  finding  fault  with  this,  that  and 
the  other?"  You  must  accept  the  facts 
and  act  upon  God's  directions,  or  you  are 
lost  world  without  end.  Perhaps  it  is  just 
that  way.  Some  man  in  the  audience  says, 
''How  can  one  man  die  for  all  the  world, 
that  the  world  can  be  saved  through  him?" 
It  matters  not  whether  you  can  see  it,  or 
not.  Thank  God  it  is  so.  It  matters  not 
whether  you  can  understand  it  or  not, 
thank  God  it  is  so;  it  matters  not  whether 
it  strikes  you  as  scientific  or  philosophic,  or 
not;  thank  God  it  is  grace,  and  thank  God 
it  is  gospel,  and  thank  God  it  saves  every 
one  that  so  accepts  it,  and  the  fact  of  the 
business  is  that  every  one  that  does  not 
dies  in  his  sin  and  is  damned.  Hence  Jesus 
Christ  said,  *'If  ye  believe  not  that  I  am  he, 
ye  shall  die  in  your  sins." 

But  I  imagine  Moses  goes  along  there  a 
little    further    and    finds    another   sick   man. 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  231 

Says  Moses,  I  imagine,  "Why  don't  you  look 
at  that  brazen  serpent  up  yonder?"  *'0  no, 
Moses,  I  am  not  going  to  look  at  that  brazen 
serpent  until  somebody  explains  to  me  what 
God  made  snakes  for."  I  Imagine  Moses 
says,  ''It  is  none  of  your  business  what  God 
made  them  for,  the  fact  of  the  business  Is 
he  made  them,  and  one  bit  you,  and  if  you 
don't  accept  the  remedies  offered  to  you, 
you  will  die  pretty  soon."  And  a  great 
many  men  just  so  will  hear  the  gospel;  they 
won't  hear  anything  the  minister  has  got 
to  say  until  the  minister  explains  how  the 
devil  came  into  existence,  and  a  great  many 
other  questions.  Dear  man.  It  is  none  of 
your  business  about  the  devil's  coming 
into  existence,  or  the  introduction  of  sin, 
the  fact  is  there  is  the  devil,  and  he  is  into 
you,  and  the  fact  is  he  is  dragging  you  down 
to  hell,  and  the  fact  Is  if  you  don't  accept 
God's  remedy  that  He  provided  for  your 
salvation  that  devil  will  drag  you  down. 
That  Is  all  there  is  about  it.  May  God  help 
you  to  accept  His  Gospel  on  its  plain,  simple 
and  easy  terms  tonight. 

Why   did    another   man   die   there   in   the 
camp   of    Israel   after   the   serpent   was   put 


232  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

on  the  pole?  Not  because  a  snake  bit  him, 
but  because  after  he  was  snake-bit  he  re- 
jected a  remedy  that  would  have  cured  a 
snakebite.  You  don't  go  to  hell  for  what 
the  devil  did,  or  for  what  Adam  did.  No 
man  ever  goes  to  hell  because  he  was  born 
with  a  sinful  nature,  or  because  he  is  a  sinner, 
he  goes  to  hell  because  being  a  sinner  he 
rejects  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  Saviour  that 
can  keep  sinners  out  of  hell.  Hence  the  word 
of  the  Lord  Jesus:  "He  that  believeth  not 
on  the  Son  is  condemned  already,  because  he 
hath  not  believed  on  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
God."  You  don't  go  to  hell  then  because  you 
are  a  poor,  fallen,  guilty  sinner,  but  because 
you  reject  God's  Son,  the  only  Saviour  of  lost 
sinners. 

Again,  I  see  Moses  as  he  goes  down  that 
camp  a  little  further,  and  he  sees  another 
man,  and  he  notices  that  he  is  right  sick, 
but  there  is  quite  a  commotion  around  there, 
and  he  goes  up  close  to  the  tent,  and  looks 
around  and  there  is  a  little  kettle  on  the  fire, 
and  the  little  son  is  sitting  over  there  skin- 
ning some  bark  off  a  branch  of  some  sort 
that  he  has  got  in  the  wilderness  somewhere, 
and  his  wife  is  stirring  up  a  little  meal  or 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  233 

something.  "What  are  you  all  going  to  do?** 
asks  Moses.  Says  the  man,  '*I  am  snake-bit, 
and  I  am  going  to  have  a  poultice  made, 
and  I  am  going  to  put  the  poultice  on  the 
place  where  the  snake  bit  me."  ''Why,  what 
good  do  you  think  it  will  do?"  "I  think 
with  the  help  of  the  poultice  and  the  brazen 
serpent  I  will  be  cured."  ''What  do  you 
want  to  go  into  the  poultice  business  for? 
If  the  brazen  serpent,  God's  remedy,  is  not 
sufficient  the  poultice  would  not  make  it 
sufficient,  but  if  the  remedy  is  sufficient, 
your  poultice  is  not  necessary.  God's  con- 
dition was  not  a  poultice,  it  was  a  look. 
Now,  quit  the  poultice  business  and  look." 
That  is  the  way  it  is  today.  Here  are  a  great 
many  dying,  sin-sick  souls  not  accepting 
Jesus  just  because  instead  of  trusting  him 
for  their  salvation  they  have  gone  into  the 
poultice  business.  "I  have  got  to  make  my 
heart  a  little  better,  I  have  got  to  improve 
myself  and  lop  off  a  few  things  here  and  a 
few  things  yonder,  and  I  want  to  make  myself 
a  little  better,  and  when  I  become  fit,"  that 
is  a  big  word  with  them — "then  I  want  to 
come  to  Christ  and  be  saved."  Dear  dying 
man,  all  of  that  is  unnecessary.     Jesus  can 


234  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

save  you  a  poor,  lost,  guilty  soul,  easily  if 
you  will  trust  him;  and  if  Jesus  can't  save 
you  then  all  of  this  thing  that  you  are  doing 
won't  amount  to  anything,  and  if  Jesus 
Christ  can  save  you  your  efforts  at  purifying 
and  making  yourself  better  are  altogether 
unnecessary.  Don't  go  into  the  poultice 
business,  it  doesn't  amount  to  anything. 
God  says  we  are  not  saved  through  works, 
but  by  grace  through  faith.  Jesus  is  the 
Saviour,  accept  him  and  be  saved.  Don't 
try  to  make  yourself  better,  you  can't  do  it. 
God  does  not  tell  any  man  to  make  himself 
better,  he  says,  repent,  forsake,  believe  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  you  will  be  saved. 
Do  that.     God  grant  that  you  may. 

I  see  Moses  go  down  the  camp  a  little 
further,  and  there  is  quite  a  commotion 
about  that  tent  door,  there  are  several  parties 
inside  and  several  men  standing  there,  and 
about  the  time  Moses  gets  there  the  man's 
wife  meets  him  at  the  door,  and  says  ''Moses, 
go  very  slowly.  My  husband  is  snake-bit, 
and  my  husband  is  a  very  peculiar  kind  of 
a  man,  and  if  you  don't  approach  him  just 
right  he  won't  let  you  give  a  thing  to  him.*' 
"There  is  nothing  peculiar  about  your  hus- 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  235 

band,  except  he  is  snake-bit,  that  is  all." 
There  are  a  great  many  people  that  way. 
I  have  had  some  of  them  here  at  this  meeting 
to  say:  *'Bro.  Pearson,  I  wish  you  would 
please  talk  to  my  husband,  or  to  my  son," 
as  the  case  might  be.  *'Just  everybody 
can't  talk  to  him,  his  is  a  very  peculiar 
case."  Now,  my  dear  friend,  let  me  tell 
you.  There  is  nothing  peculiar  about  your 
husband,  or  any  man,  except  he  is  a  poor, 
lost,  guilty,  sin-sick  soul,  going  down  to  death 
and  hell.  That  is  all.  Don't  you  talk  about 
your  peculiarities.  Come  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  be  saved. 

Again  I  see  Moses  goes  down  the  camp 
again  a  little  further,  and  he  finds  another 
man  down  there,  and  Moses  says:  ''Why 
don't  you  look  at  that  brazen  serpent?" 
"Well,  Moses,  I  am  going  to  look,  but  I  will 
put  it  off  till  2  o'clock.  I  am  going  to  look 
about  2."  He  comes  back  about  2  o'clock, 
and  sees  the  man  still  suffering:  "You  have 
not  looked  at  that  serpent  yet?"  "No.  I  am 
going  to  look  about  4."  About  4  Moses 
returns:  "You  haven't  looked  at  that  serpent 
yet?"  "No,  Moses."  "You  are  getting 
sicker,   and  still  blinder,   and   still  weaker.'* 


236  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

''Yes,  but  I  am  going  to  look  about  6  o'clock." 
And  about  6  Moses  comes  back,  and  the  poor 
man's  eyes  are  glazed  in  death,  and  though 
he  turns  those  glazed,  set  eyes  towards  the 
pole,  he  can't  see.  He  is  too  far  gone.  Looking 
was  the  condition,  he  has  postponed  it  until 
he  ca7i't  see  the  serpent,  and  now  death  is 
inevitable.  There  are  perhaps  fifty  men  in 
this  audience  tonight  just  exactly  on  that 
line.  You  said  twenty-five,  thirty,  forty  years 
ago  you  were  going  to  be  a  Christian.  You 
put  it  off  from  two  till  four  and  from  four 
till  six,  and  it  has  got  so  that  some  of  you  are 
tonight  sinking  with  the  film  of  death  settling 
over  your  mortal  vision  and  the  cataract  of 
unbelief  settling  over  your  moral  eyes,  till 
you  can  scarcely  see,  and  you  are  going  down 
in  darkness  and  death.  God  help  you  to  turn 
and  look  and  live  while  you  may. 

I  see  Moses  go  down  there  in  that  camp 
further,  and  he  strikes  another  very  remark- 
able case.  He  finds  a  great  stalwart  man 
lying  stretched  out  on  the  ground  very  sick, 
and  there  is  the  man's  dear,  good  wife  begging 
him  to  look  at  that  serpent.  No,  he  won't  do 
it.  There  is  the  man's  son  perhaps  begging 
him  to  look  at  the  serpent:    "No,  I  won't  do 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  237 

It."  And  I  imagine  I  see  Moses  as  he  goes 
over  to  the  poor  fellow  and  takes  his  head  and 
turns  his  face  right  around  to  that  serpent, 
and  the  man  shuts  both  eyes.  Won't  look,  he 
won't  see,  he  won't  take  in  that  serpent;  and 
what  is  the  result?  He  dies  and  there  is  nobody 
to  blame  but  his  own  self.  Dear  friends, 
there  are  men  and  women  in  this  audience 
tonight  that  are  doing  just  that  thing.  Your 
good  husband  turns  your  face  toward  the 
cross,  but  you  shut  your  eyes.  These  faithful 
pastors  for  a  number  of  years  have  been  turn- 
ing your  eyes  towards  the  cross  as  the  serpent, 
and  God  knows,  as  you  know  during  the  last 
two  weeks,  to  the  best  of  my  feeble  strength, 
I  have  been  turning  your  face  toward  that 
cross,  and  some  of  you  are  closing  your  eyes. 
You  have  got  them  shut  close  tonight.  If 
you  will  die,  no  one  can  help  you.  If  you  will 
not  be  saved,  there  is  nobody  to  blame  but 
yourself.  I  beg  you  in  God's  name  tonight 
that  you  open  those  eyes,  look  to  Christ, 
trust  in  him,  and  trust  him  now,  and  God 
will  save  your  soul. 

But  I  see  Moses  go  down  the  camp  again 
and  he  comes  to  another  man.  He  is  sitting 
up;  I  imagine  he  has  got  his  foot  up  on  a 


238  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

rock;  a  snake  bit  him  there  in  the  foot.  Moses 
comes  to  him  and  says:  "What  are  you 
doing?"  "O  Moses,  I  am  looking  there  where 
the  snake  bit  me.  O  Moses,  look  how  it  is 
swelling,  look  how  that  limb  is  enlarging, 
look  how  red  it  is  getting."  "Man,  you  are 
looking  at  the  wrong  place,  at  the  wrong  thing. 
God  didn't  tell  you  to  look  where  the  snake 
bit  you,  that  won't  do  you  any  good.  God 
told  you  to  look  at  the  brazen  serpent  after 
the  snake  had  bitten  you.  You  have  been 
looking  there  long  enough,  don't  look  there 
any  longer.  Look  up  yonder  at  that  brazen 
serpent."  Now,  as  long  as  the  man  keeps  his 
eyes  on  his  foot  he  can't  see  the  brazen  serpent, 
but  just  as  soon  as  he  takes  his  eyes  off  that 
and  looks  at  the  brazen  serpent  he  is  cured. 
Penitent  friend,  perhaps  you  are  making  just 
that  mistake,  and  looking  in  your  heart  at  all 
those  oaths,  and  lewdness  and  drunkenness 
and  evil  deeds,  and  you  are  looking  at  that 
sin-sick  heart  of  yours,  and  you  are  saying: 
"O,  I  am  such  a  sinner;  I  am  so  guilty  and 
vile,"  and  you  are  looking  at  yourself  all  the 
time.  You  have  looked  there  long  enough. 
That  won't  do  you  any  good.  Hear  what  God 
says:    ^'Look  unto  me  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth, 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  239 

and  be  ye  saved."  Then  look  away  from  that 
guilty  heart,  from  that  sin-cursed  soul,  from 
that  wicked  conscience ;  look  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  that  will  do  you  good. 

I  see  Moses  as  he  finds  another  one  down 
there.  Moses  says:  'Why  don't  you  look?" 
"Moses,  I  am  so  sick  right  now,  but  Moses, 
I  have  had  my  wife  to  make  me  a  little  gruel, 
and  I  am  going  to  drink  that,  and  I  am  going 
to  prop  myself  up  against  this  tree,  and  then 
I  am  going  to  take  some  water,  and  after  a 
while  I'll  try  and  see  if  I  can't  feel  a  little 
better;  and,  Moses,  just  as  soon  as  I  feel  a 
little  better,  I  am  going  to  look  at  that  brazen 
serpent."  Moses  says:  'What  are  you  trying 
to  do  that  for?  The  way  to  get  better  is  to 
look  at  the  serpent.  This  won't  make  you 
any  better.  Don't  try  that  any  longer.  Look 
at  the  serpent  and  you  will  be  cured  here  and 
now."  Just  so,  dear  dying  sinner.  Don't 
try  to  make  yourself  any  better  any  longer; 
you  can't  do  it.  Just  look  here  to  Jesus;  that 
is  the  way  to  get  relief  and  peace  and  joy  and 
comfort  and  salvation. 

Then  there  is  one  other  case,  and  I  imagine 
I  see  Moses  go  down  there  a  little  further, 
and  he  comes  to  a  sick,  poor,  frail  man;  he 


240  EVANGELISTIC  SERMONS 

is  nearly  gone,  so  helpless  he  can  scarcely  turn 
himself  over,  and  he  is  lying  with  his  face 
from  the  serpent,  and  Moses  says:  ''Why 
don't  you  look?"  "Well,"  says  the  man,  "I 
am  not  able  to  walk  to  that  post.  I  am  not 
able  to  climb  it  if  I  was  there,  and  I  can't 
get  up  there  and  get  hold  of  that  serpent." 
''But,"  says  Moses,  "you  don't  have  to  go 
to  that  pole  and  climb  it  and  get  hold  of  that 
serpent.  You  just  simply  have  to  look." 
Says  the  man:  "Is  that  all?"  "Yes,  just 
simply  look."  "If  I  were  to  look  do  you 
reckon  I  would  be  cured  right  here  and  now?" 
"Yes,  right  here  on  the  spot."  "I  am  so 
helpless,  Moses,  I  can't  turn  over,  I  am  so 
sick."  I  imagine  I  see  Moses  as  he  puts  his 
arm  down  to  that  poor  fellow  and  turns  him 
over  and  places  him  on  his  side,  and  I  imagine 
I  see  that  poor,  sick  man,  as  he  stays  himself 
on  his  elbow,  with  his  hand  on  his  head,  and 
he  gets  his  face  steady  and  he  turns  his  eyes 
on  that  brazen  serpent,  and  no  sooner  does 
he  fix  that  gaze  upon  it  than  he  straightens 
right  up  and  says:  "Moses,  thank  God,  I  am 
cured;  Moses,  I  am  all  right,  I  am  sound,  I 
am  well,  I  am  cured."  Isn't  that  wonderful? 
God  could  cure  him  in  a  second.     It  w^as  not 


THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  241 

the  brazen  serpent  that  cured  him ;  it  was  God 
who  was  behind  the  brazen  serpent,  who  was 
the  real  remedy. 

Just  so,  my  friends;  here  you  are  tonight,  so 
sinful,  so  sad,  so  sorry,  so  grieved.  Will  you  to- 
night just  put  your  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ?  Will  you  trust  him  right  here  and 
right  now?  If  you  do,  God  will  save  you. 
Hear  what  He  says,  John  6:47:  ''Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  believe th  on 
me  hath  everlasting  life."  Now,  my  dear, 
penitent  friend,  that  is  just  as  simple  and  as 
plain  as  I  know  how  to  make  it.  That  is  the 
gospel  as  simple  as  I  know  how  to  preach  it. 

Here  is  the  Son,  here  are  you  a  sinner;  put 
your  faith  in  him  and  believe  he  will  do  what 
he  says  and  claim  his  promises,  and  God's 
word  for  it,  you  shall  be  saved  right  here  and 
right  now.  Every  poor,  guilty  soul  in  this 
house  tonight  that  will  accept  God's  remedy 
on  God's  condition  shall  and  will  be  saved, 
right  here  and  right  now. 


oi,C3  o«- 


3-^S> 


